• European leaders pledge continued support for Ukraine after Trump-Putin talks.
• Ukraine must receive "ironclad" security guarantees, as stated by European leaders.
• Trump advocates for a peace settlement rather than simply a ceasefire.
• European leaders emphasize that Russia cannot dictate Ukraine’s future NATO or EU membership.
• Concerns arise over the lack of progress following the Alaska summit.

After a summit in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, several European leaders reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine and applying pressure on Russia until the conflict concludes. The leaders, which included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, met to discuss the outcomes of Trump's discussions with Putin. They issued a statement emphasizing the need for negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expressed their readiness to support a trilateral summit with Trump and Zelenskyy, highlighting Ukraine’s decision-making autonomy concerning its territory, according to Channel News Asia and Reuters.

In their unified statement, European leaders underscored the necessity for Ukraine to have "ironclad" security guarantees to preserve its territorial integrity. The statement made it clear that, “as long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia,” vowing to enhance sanctions and economic measures against Russia until a durable peace was established. Additionally, the leaders asserted that Ukraine's potential NATO and EU membership should not be subject to Russian vetoes, as reported by South China Morning Post.

Trump's post-summit remarks suggested a preference for moving directly to a peace agreement with Russia instead of negotiating a ceasefire, a stance that has drawn criticism from Kyiv and its European allies. This has left European leaders grappling to balance their support for Ukraine's sovereignty while still engaging in diplomacy with the US. They welcomed Trump's indication of the US's willingness to offer security guarantees but remained cautious about the implications of bypassing the ceasefire dialogue, as noted by South China Morning Post.

While some observers criticized the outcomes of the summit as favoring Putin, the European leaders stressed the importance of securing significant involvement from Kyiv in future discussions. This includes a potential trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy for collaborative peace efforts. The summit’s failure to yield immediate results has generated concerns about Europe's waning influence in the negotiations, highlighting the precarious situation Ukraine continues to face amid ongoing hostilities, according to Reuters and South China Morning Post.