'Putin is bluffing,' Zelenskyy tells Trump as European leaders push for Ukraine ceasefire

Just two days before a historic meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a virtual summit was initiated by the leaders of Ukraine and Germany in an effort to remind the world of one of Kyiv's main diplomatic principles: "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."

Following the call with Trump and European leaders, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the top priority both for Wednesday's talks and Friday's summit is a ceasefire, a sentiment that, according to Zelenskyy, Trump agreed with.

"We talked about ceasefire today. President Trump said this is one of his priorities in conversation with President Putin," Zelenskyy said after the call during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"I very much hope that some agreement will be reached, because so far all the talks held with Putin...have ended only with him increasing military presence, intensifying attacks."

According to Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European leaders were jointly trying to steer the Alaska meeting between Trump and Putin "in the right direction."

"We want the correct sequence: first, a ceasefire — this must be at the very beginning. Later, there may be a framework agreement. Third, Ukraine is ready to negotiate on talks and territorial issues, but our starting point is the contact line," Merz explained.

Pressure must be put on Russia for peace Zelenskyy says

Ever since Trump confirmed his meeting with Putin, Zelenskyy has been trying to get support from Ukraine's partners in an effort to convince the US president not to trust the Russian leader.

"I told Trump and all of our European partners that Putin is bluffing," Zelenskyy said after the virtual meeting with the US president on Wednesday.

"Putin is bluffing that the sanctions do not work, that they are nothing. In fact sanctions are hitting Russian economy hard," Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia's president has not changed his ultimate goal and he still wants to "to occupy the whole of Ukraine."

Merz, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, both reiterated that Ukraine has to be present at any talks on putting an end to Russia's war.

"We have addressed several important points. We made it clear that Ukraine must be at the negotiating table if there is to be a follow-up meeting," Merz said.

Possible trilateral meeting

Following the virtual meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said he was "always going to meet Vladimir Putin" only, without Ukraine's president and European leaders present at the talks.

Trump described the upcoming Alaska talks as "setting the table for the second meeting" which would include Putin and Zelenskyy.

"We are going to have the second meeting if the first one goes well," Trump said, adding that he would prefer the second meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy to take place "almost immediately."

When asked what would the format of the second meeting be, Trump suggested it would be either bilateral or trilateral, depending on whether Zelenskyy and Putin wanted the US president there.

Zelenskyy said that the next steps and the possibility of the second meeting will be discussed with Trump immediately after his talks with Putin.

"The US President has repeatedly spoken about this. He suggested to me that after the meeting in Alaska, we would be in contact and discuss all the results, if any, and determine our next steps," Zelenskyy said.