European leaders to speak with Trump before Putin call, Merz says
European leaders will call U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his planned phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 18, according to Deutsche Welle (DW).
Trump announced that he plans to speak with Putin at 10 a.m. on May 19, after which he will hold a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump said he hopes the discussions will result in a ceasefire — a step the Kremlin has doggedly resisted since the U.S. first proposed a 30-day truce in March.
French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Merz will speak with Trump before the Putin call, Merz told reporters from the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass.
"We have now agreed that we will talk again — the four heads of state and government and the American president in preparation for this conversation," Merz said.
"We can only hope that now there will be further progress (towards a ceasefire)."
Merz said that he has already discussed the upcoming Trump-Putin call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The European leaders' conversation with Trump will come a week after Merz, Macron, Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke with the U.S. president about their demand that Russia accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire beginning May 12. Trump indicated support for the proposal and agreed Washington would impose sanctions on Russia if they did not agree.
When Putin countered with an invitation to direct peace talks in Istanbul on May 15, however, Trump quickly urged Ukraine to accept. He said a ceasefire could potentially be negotiated in Turkey and said he might also join the talks.
Trump did not attend the Istanbul peace talks — nor did Putin, who instead sent a delegation of lower-level aides even after President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to meet face-to-face at the negotiating table.
The talks failed to produce a ceasefire agreement.
Ukraine accepted the U.S.-backed unconditional 30-day ceasefire when Washington first proposed it on March 11. Russia rejected the proposal and continued its attacks.
Following the Istanbul peace talks, Russia launched a record-setting drone attack against Ukraine overnight on May 18.
