The Daily Populous Sunday August 17th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by pheexio

“Our aim tomorrow is to present a united front between Europeans and Ukrainians, reaffirming who is on the side of peace and international law,” said Macron at a press conference late on Sunday afternoon. “The security of Europeans and of France is at stake.”

“At the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow,” von der Leyen said in a statement, prior to receiving the Ukrainian leader in Brussels for a virtual summit of the Coalition of the Willing, the informal grouping of European countries pushing for continued support for Kyiv.

Stefan Kornelius, spokesman for the German government, said that the purpose of Monday’s Oval Office visit “is to exchange information with … Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.”

“Chancellor Merz will discuss the status of peace efforts with the heads of state and government and emphasise Germany’s interest in a quick peace agreement in Ukraine,” the spokesman said.

The meeting was called by Trump after he held talks in Alaska with Putin on Friday, where he claimed the two sides had agreed “on many points” but stopped short of outlining a peace plan. What was intended to be a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy has been presented by the U.S. administration as a precursor to a potential three-way negotiation that includes Putin.

Diplomats told POLITICO on Saturday that they expected European leaders to accompany Zelenskyy in a bid to ensure key red lines are not crossed, and that Ukraine is not forced against its will to give up territory to secure a deal.

Zhukov-74 on August 17th, 2025 at 11:26 UTC »

The European leaders that will travel to Washington:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz

French President Emmanuel Macron

Finnish President Alexander Stubb

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte

I_HAVE_ADHD_DAWG on August 17th, 2025 at 11:17 UTC »

Curious what outcome do you all expect from Monday’s talks? Genuine change or more political maneuvering?

Golvellius on August 17th, 2025 at 11:17 UTC »

This is good because aside from the sacrosant defense of Ukraine's interests, Trump needs to be reminded every day that he's playing with the interests of Europe as a whole, and he can't do as he pleases