Putin ‘rarely to be trusted’: Merz, Macron warn against territorial concessions after Trump-Zelenskyy talks

European leaders meeting in Washington on Monday presented a united front, rejecting any suggestion that Ukraine should make territorial concessions in peace talks with Russia. They stressed that Kyiv’s sovereignty and military strength must not be compromised in any deal to end the war.

French President Emmanuel Macron said a future peace accord “cannot restrict the size of Kyiv’s military,” telling reporters after White House talks that both Donald Trump and European leaders agreed on the need for a “robust Ukrainian army that can resist any attempted attack” with “no limitation in number or capacity of arms.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz dismissed Moscow’s demand that Ukraine cede Donbass, drawing a striking comparison. “The Russian demand that Kyiv give up the free parts of Donbass corresponds, to put it bluntly, to a proposal for the United States to have to give up Florida,” he told reporters.

Merz also revealed that Trump and Vladimir Putin had agreed in a phone call to arrange a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky within two weeks.

Macron, meanwhile, warned that sanctions on Russia would intensify if Moscow obstructs the peace process. “President Trump believes we can get an agreement and believes that President Putin also wants a peace accord. But if at the end this process is met by refusal, we are also ready to say that we need to increase sanctions,” he said, pointing to Washington’s secondary sanctions on India as evidence of their effectiveness.

He also clarified that the White House discussions had not involved Ukraine surrendering land. “No, that wasn’t discussed at all. We’re well away from that,” Macron said, countering speculation after Trump’s earlier public calls for compromise.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb cast doubt on Putin’s intentions, questioning whether the Russian leader would follow through. “Putin is rarely to be trusted. So now it remains to be seen whether he has the courage to come to this type of meeting. Does he have the courage to come to a trilateral meeting, or is he once again playing for time?” he told reporters.

Trump later said “arrangements” were underway for a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin, calling it a “very good, early step” toward ending the nearly four-year conflict.

“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump wrote on Trump Social.

He added that once the bilateral meeting concludes, he plans to host a trilateral session. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” he said.