When news broke that Presidents Trump and Putin were ironing out the details on an Alaska summit (likely at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson), Europe’s initial response was wtf.
But there’s no feeling of strategic exclusion that jumping on a quick Zoom call can’t fix, so that’s what President Trump did with his counterparts from Ukraine and Europe yesterday.
Here are the top five quotes you need to know:
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- “They thanked President Trump for his efforts in bringing Putin to the table in pursuit of a ceasefire to end to the ongoing bloodshed” — Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, UK 🇬🇧
The interesting thing about this British statement is what it reveals about Europe’s entire approach to the Alaska summit: a tightrope. They’re obviously alarmed that no European leader, let alone Ukraine’s own president, is invited to a summit about Europe’s future.
But the Brits are also reportedly urging the Europeans to tone down any public demands, fearing they could just end up annoying the US president. And interestingly, Trump himself has toned down his messaging on Alaska, framing it more as a “listening exercise”.
- “Trump was very clear on the fact that the US wants to obtain a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska” — Emmanuel Macron, President, France 🇫🇷
All the European leaders noted their understanding President Trump wants a ceasefire tomorrow, but the president himself then hosed that down at the Kennedy Center an hour later, telling reporters any ceasefire might need a second meeting including Zelensky.
- “If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should and must increase the pressure” — Friedrich Merz, Chancellor, Germany 🇩🇪
Now lest you think this was just wishful thinking, Merz went on to claim “President Trump is aware of this position and largely shares it.” And lest you think this was wishful thinking, the president himself went on to reiterate his Putin doubts to reporters: “I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him, then I go home and see a rocket hit a nursing home.”
The president then (again) warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin’s not serious.
- “Take it from us… Putin has no intention to stop his expansionist pursuit” — Elina Valtonen, Foreign Minister, Finland 🇫🇮
That ‘take it from us’ is a reference to Russia’s century-long rule over Finland until 1917, plus the Finns then stunning the world by somehow fending off 26 of Stalin’s divisions — he ended up with 10% of Finland, rather than the full annexation he wanted.
That kind of history explains why Finland and others bordering Russia tend to be the least starry-eyed in the room, seeing Putin’s peace overtures as more stalling and misdirection.
- “Pressure on Russia works” — Volodymyr Zelensky, President, Ukraine 🇺🇦
Zelensky has long held firm to the same basic principle: nothing about us without us. So it was interesting to then see him (after the Zoom chat) call for more allied investments in Ukraine’s industry, particularly drones.
The message there is that he’s realistic about the prospects of peace with Putin, so is doubling down on Ukraine’s ability to keep defending itself.
Intrigue’s Take
Our sense is President Trump has genuinely eased some of his hard-line positions towards Europe, and that’s partly thanks to Europe itself:
- NATO members (ex-Spain) have now endorsed his 5% spending target
- Europeans have bank-rolled more of Ukraine’s self-defence, and
- The Financial Times just compiled some remarkable data suggesting a historic tripling in the pace of Europe’s rearmament is now underway.
So any freeloading might be receding into the rear-view, while Zelensky’s methodical gratitude for every ounce of support blunts any (Kremlin-fanned) claims of insouciance.
But the other comment that grabbed our attention came from the US president himself, voicing irritation at claims tomorrow’s Alaska summit is shaping up as a Putin win. All of that, combined with Trump reframing Friday as a listening exercise, leaves us wondering if we’re more headed towards the kind of anti-climax Europe and Ukraine can live with.