Zelenskyy in Berlin to Confer Before Trump-Putin Summit

Berlin, August 13 (AP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to visit Berlin on Wednesday to engage in discussions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European and US leaders, just before the upcoming Trump-Putin summit later this week, according to the German government.

Merz has scheduled a series of virtual meetings on Wednesday, aiming to ensure the voices of European and Ukrainian leaders are heard before a summit from which they feel excluded.

Zelenskyy will first meet with European leaders to prepare for a subsequent virtual discussion with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which is set to occur about an hour later.

A call that will include leaders from the “coalition of the willing” countries, who are ready to assist in overseeing any future peace agreement, is planned to be the last of the day's meetings.

Trump has expressed his intention to determine whether Putin is genuinely committed to ending the ongoing war, which is now in its fourth year.

Trump has frustrated some European allies by indicating that Ukraine might have to relinquish certain territories currently held by Russia. He has also mentioned that Russia should agree to land swaps, though it remains unclear what concessions Putin might be willing to make.

European and Ukrainian leaders are cautious, fearing that Putin—who has initiated the largest land war in Europe since 1945 and leveraged Russia's energy resources to try to threaten the EU—could negotiate favorable terms and outline a peace deal without their involvement.

The primary concern among European countries is that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he might target one of them next. (AP) GRS GRS

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