European leaders are due to arrive in Washington on Monday to press for an end to Russian attacks on Ukraine. After the summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday regarding the end of the Ukraine war.

After the summit with Putin failed to reach a conclusion, Trump said that an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine was impossible. Ukraine and its European allies have criticized Putin's stance as a new strategy that will waste time but advance Russia's battlefield advances. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merger and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are going to Washington to have a comprehensive discussion with Trump about Ukraine and to create an atmosphere that will make him stand in favor of Ukraine. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubbs will also be in the visiting party. 

The German government has confirmed that Chancellor Merz is going to the US and said that Germany will try to "keep an interest in a quick peace agreement in Ukraine". On his way back to Washington from Alaska, Trump is expected to brief Zelensky and European leaders on his discussions with Putin.

"The best way to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement that will end the war," Trump wrote on his investment social network Truth Social Platform. "Ceasefire agreements often don't hold."

Responding after Trump and Putin's Alaska talks, Zelensky said on Saturday, "This change has complicated the situation." If Moscow has the will to issue a simple order to stop an attack, Russia can do much more to maintain a broader will to maintain a peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades.

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain had a virtual meeting on Sunday to set a common agenda for the discussion on ending the Ukraine war. Ukraine and its European partners expressed concern that the talks between Trump and Putin were merely a ploy to buy time for Russia's military action. On his way back to Washington from Alaska, Trump said that if all parties agree, a direct peace agreement can be reached to end the war.

According to an official, Trump has expressed support for Putin's proposal at the talks, according to which Russia wants to take full control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, in return for a ceasefire in parts of southern Ukraine. But the Ukrainian side disagrees to leave Donbass.