The Absent Yet Present in Alaska: Zelensky Heads to Washington as Europe Joins the Call

15th August 2025

2 minutes read

The Absent Yet Present in Alaska: Zelensky Heads to Washington as Europe Joins the Call

U.S. President Donald Trump held lengthy separate phone calls with his Ukrainian counterpart and several European leaders to brief them on the outcome of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following the meeting in Alaska, Trump had a “long conversation” with Volodymyr Zelensky while returning to Washington aboard the presidential plane, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Leavitt explained that Trump had also spoken with NATO leaders. The U.S. president landed at 2:45 a.m. local time on Saturday (6:45 GMT) and did not take questions from the press.

For his part, Zelensky disclosed the details of his call with Trump in a statement posted on his official X account. “We had a long and profound discussion with the U.S. president,” he wrote.

He added: “We began with bilateral talks before inviting European leaders to join us. The conversation lasted more than an hour and a half, including nearly an hour of one-on-one dialogue with President Trump.”

The Ukrainian president reiterated his country’s determination to do everything possible to achieve peace. He said he had informed Trump about the results of his own meeting with Putin and the key points of discussion, stressing the importance of U.S. influence in shaping developments.

Zelensky also voiced support for Trump’s proposal of a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, affirming that such a format would be appropriate for addressing the main issues at the leadership level.

He further announced that he would meet with Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss in detail the steps needed to end the bloodshed and the war, expressing gratitude for the invitation. He emphasized the importance of Europe’s involvement at every stage to ensure credible security guarantees alongside the U.S.

Zelensky concluded by noting positive signals from Washington regarding Ukraine’s security and said that coordination with all partners would continue.

From the European side, a Commission spokesperson confirmed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had joined the call, which lasted “a little over an hour.”

Nevertheless, the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin brought no breakthrough on Ukraine. Neither president offered a ceasefire, though both pointed to areas of convergence and exchanged gestures of cordiality.

After three hours of talks, the meeting ended unexpectedly. At their joint press conference, the two leaders traded compliments but declined to take questions from journalists — an unusual stance for an American president known for his attention to media engagement.