Overview

• The White House confirmed a one-on-one Trump–Putin meeting in Anchorage this Friday to explore a Ukraine peace solution without other leaders present.
• Chancellor Merz led preparatory videoconferences with EU partners and President Selenskyj to agree on five principles for follow-up talks: Ukraine’s direct participation, a ceasefire-first sequencing, non-recognition of borders changed by force, robust security guarantees and a transatlantic framework.
• Following a call with President Trump, Merz publicly presented the five-point framework and pledged Europe’s “full support” for the U.S. role in advancing the agenda.
• Kyiv remains not formally invited to the Alaska meeting, heightening fears in Ukraine and Europe over possible territorial concessions after Trump floated the idea of a land swap.
• Intra-EU divisions persist as Hungary withheld its support for a 26-member statement insisting that Ukrainians must freely decide their country’s future.