U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Alaska meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, U.S., August 15,2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
LONDON — Three goals are topping the agenda as several European leaders join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet U.S. leader Donald Trump in Washington D.C.
Friday’s Alaska summit raised concerns in Europe that Trump might have softened his stance toward potential sanctions on Russia, and is now pushing for a permanent peace deal in Ukraine instead of an initial ceasefire — an approach more aligned with Moscow’s position.
EU officials still recall Zelenskyy’s incendiary appearance in the Oval office in February, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized the Ukrainian leader in front of TV cameras for not being thankful enough for U.S. support throughout the war.
This time around, EU leaders are traveling to the United States on Monday looking to bring Washington on the side of Ukraine. The European cohort includes heads of state that are close to Trump, such as Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“The objective is mainly to support Zelenskyy,” a senior EU diplomat, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic, told CNBC on Sunday. “The idea is to make sure [Trump] has the same objectives as Europe.”
The same diplomat outlined: “Our main objectives are: security guarantees, stop the killing and go for a trilateral meeting.”
Security guarantees
Facing a scenario that features the end of the war but no NATO membership for Kyiv, Ukraine has insisted on security reassurances that decrease the likelihood of further attacks and invasions of its territory.
According to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Putin agreed to allow Europe and the U.S. to provide such post-war security guarantees to Ukraine, which could be described as protections similar to Article 5 in the NATO alliance — a measure that states that an attack against one member is an attack on all.
An EU official, who follows these geopolitical topics but did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC that “NATO article-5 like security guarantees for Ukraine are great, but unclear what they will entail in practice.”
Speaking to CNBC’s Europe Early Edition on Monday, former U.S. diplomat James Bindenagel said these security guarantees would allow Western — but not NATO — forces to be present in Ukraine, which “would have the ability to fight back to any violations of a ceasefire.”
Stop the killing
Putin has reportedly called for Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of the country and added that Moscow could freeze the front lines in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
However, the promise to end the war in exchange for territorial concessions is a long-standing no-go for Kyiv, with Zelenskyy saying last week that such a surrender would be a “springboard” for a future new Russian offensive.
“As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, Europe will maintain diplomatic and, in particular, economic pressure on Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a Sunday statement.
She added the EU will “continue to strengthen sanctions,” and is advancing preparations for a 19th package of measures to put forward in early September.
Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy?
The other objective that Europe wants to meet on Monday is securing White House support for a meeting that features Trump and Putin, but also brings Zelenskyy to the negotiating table.
“These are challenging times; only Ukraine can choose its own destiny,” von der Leyen said on Sunday.
Trump has spoken about a potential summit featuring himself, Russian and Ukrainian leadership, but he has not mentioned that prospect of such gathering since the Alaska summit.
—CNBC’s Emilia Hardie contributed to this report.
