Ukraine and Europe to present a united front in Washington talks

European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his visit to Washington to see President Donald Trump in a collective bid to find a way to end the conflict with Russia, with the U.S. offering security guarantees for Kyiv.

The meeting follows a summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that failed to yield any breakthrough on an immediate ceasefire that the U.S. leader had been pushing for.

Trump, who pivoted afterwards to say he was now seeking a peace deal, on Sunday posted "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.

Trump's Russia envoy Steve Witkoff said that Trump and Putin had agreed in their summit on "robust security guarantees" for Ukraine.

'Putin will not give security guarantees'

But Zelenskyy, on a Brussels visit on Sunday hosted by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees.

"What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin's thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees," he said.

Von der Leyen hailed the U.S. offer to provide security guarantees modeled on, but separate from, NATO's collective security arrangement, known as Article 5.

"We welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine, and the coalition of the willing, including the European Union, is ready to do its share," Von der Leyen said.

Trump's pivot to looking for a peace deal, not a ceasefire, aligns with the stance long taken by Putin, and which Ukraine and its European allies have criticized as Putin's way to buy time with the intent of making battlefield gains.

Zelenskyy also said he saw "no sign" the Kremlin leader was prepared to meet him and Trump for a three-way summit, as had been floated by the U.S. president.

'Coalition of the Willing'

The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to appear alongside Zelenskyy call themselves the "Coalition of the Willing."

They include the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Von der Leyen.

Also heading to Washington will be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who get on well with Trump.

On Sunday, they all held a video meeting to prepare their joint position.

The goal for Monday's talks in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"If we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflicts," he said.

He said Kyiv's allies in Sunday's "coalition of the willing" meeting wanted strong and lasting peace in Ukraine and for Ukraine's territorial integrity to be respected.

There must be some form of ceasefire before Ukraine peace talks can begin, a Polish foreign ministry spokesperson said.

"Any form of suspension, ceasefire, or demarcation of fire is, according to the Coalition of the Willing, a condition for starting any peace talks," Pawel Wronski told reporters.

Hope for productive meeting

Unity between Europe and the U.S. is vital for getting a sustainable peace for Ukraine, the European Council's President Antonio Costa said.

"As I underlined during today's meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, if no ceasefire is agreed, the EU and the U.S. must increase pressure on Russia," added Costa in a message on X.

Speaking to U.S. broadcaster CNN, Witkoff said:  "I'm hopeful that we have a productive meeting on Monday, we get to real consensus, we're able to come back to the Russians and push this peace deal forward and get it done."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to NBC on Sunday, warned of "consequences," including the potential imposition of new sanctions on Russia, if no peace deal is reached on Ukraine.

European leaders have expressed unease from the outset over Trump's outreach to Putin, who has demanded Ukraine abandon its ambitions to join the EU or NATO. They were excluded from Trump's summit with Putin.

Witkoff, in his CNN interview, said the United States was prepared to provide "game-changing" security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a process that would involve territorial "concessions."