CEE leaders split over Trump-Putin summit in Alaska without Zelenskyy
Leaders across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) responded to the summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 August.
The summit, announced just a week earlier, was held at an Anchorage US military base in the former Russian territory of Alaska. However, about three hours of private talks ended without a formal agreement or ceasefire.
Having publicly dropped plans for an immediate ceasefire he had championed for months, Trump agreed to Putin’s favoured plan to push a “Peace Agreement” before halting fighting.
Putin reportedly told Trump that he would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in exchange for the Donetsk region, east Ukraine, according to UK daily The Financial Times.
Ukrainian House foreign affairs committee head Oleksandr Merezhko said “Unfortunately, Trump has taken Putin’s position".
Zelenskyy excluded from Anchorage summit
Trump called the talks “extremely productive” and confirmed he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on 19 August.
Putin used the occasion to advocate for a broader political settlement but offered no new commitments., at Russia’s most high-profile Western engagement since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump’s debriefing to European leaders after the Alaska summit with Putin included discussions about security guarantees for Ukraine. After the debriefing, the European Commission released a joint pledge to back Ukraine.
The reaction to the summit highlighted a divergence in CEE. While Hungary and Slovakia welcomed the diplomatic efforts, fellow Visegrad Four (V4) members Poland and Czechia joined the Baltic states in rejecting any settlement that bypasses Ukrainian sovereignty.
Zelenskyy will meet Trump in Washington on 19 August. Speaking in Kyiv, he said Ukraine “must be present at the table” and added that “any agreement without Ukraine is no agreement at all”.
Russian FM calls Hungarian counterpart
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to discuss the outcomes of the summit, the Russian foreign ministry said. Hungary has kept close ties with Russia throughout the war, often opposing EU sanctions and continuing its energy cooperation with Moscow.
Szijjarto said: "The world is a safer place as long as there is US-Russia dialogue at the highest level. Credit to both presidents for making this summit happen. Today once again confirmed that the war in Ukraine will not be settled on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table.
"Peace can only be achieved through negotiations, dialogue, and keeping diplomatic channels open. Hungary has stood by this for 3.5 years, unlike Brussels and pro-war European politicians," Szijjarto added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban tweeted: “Today the world is safer than it was yesterday. May every weekend be at least this good.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico described the summit as “a vital process” and said it marked “a necessary shift from escalation to diplomacy”. He added that Slovakia supports “all serious efforts for a durable ceasefire”.
Czechia, Poland reject summit narrative
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova noted in a tweet that the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska had not brought any fundamental progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, "but it did confirm that Putin is not looking for peace, but an opportunity to weaken the unity of the West and spread his propaganda. He is trying to prolong the conflict in order to achieve the maximum of his goals in terms of Russian expansion. Regardless of the human casualties and the devastation of Ukrainian cities.
"For us, it follows that it is necessary to maintain the cohesion of the West and persist in supporting Ukraine so that any agreement on a ceasefire or peace is not only based on Russian notes. This is in our vital interest," Cernochova underlined.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said, “From Putin, we heard the same propagandistic nonsense about the ‘roots of the conflict’ that his state television promotes.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk tweeted on 16 August that "the game for Ukraine's future, Poland's security, and all of Europe has entered a decisive phase. Today, it is even clearer that Russia respects only the strong, and Putin has once again proven to be a cunning and ruthless player. Therefore, maintaining the unity of the entire West is so important."
Tusk was also a co-signee of a statement that underlined EU leaders' readiness to work with Trump and Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit.
"Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO," the statement read. "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force. Our support to Ukraine will continue," the statement added.
Baltic states express concern
Estonian President Alar Karis, wrote on X that "What was feared didn’t happen, and what was hoped for wasn’t achieved. Europe must step up and increase pressure on Russia. Every nation has the right to choose its future. Only Ukraine can define just peace. We continue to support Ukraine & discuss security guarantees," Karis added.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said, “Only Ukraine itself can decide on its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Serious guarantees, including military ones, are important.”
Lithuanian officials did not release a formal statement, but a joint declaration from Nordic and Baltic leaders stressed that “no limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or its ability to defend itself”.
Former Estonian prime minister and the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said: “Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon. Even as delegations met, Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine. Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it.”
Kallas added that the EU will bring a nineteenth sanctions package against Russia and continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also joined five Nordic nations to reiterate their support for Ukraine. "We welcome President Trump's statement that the US is prepared to participate in security guarantees. No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with other countries," the statement read.
Balkan response limited
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic discussed the summit in a telephone call with Zelenskyy on 16 August, and said they had “discussed the current security situation in Ukraine and peace initiatives”. No further details were published.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said the summit “should be seen as a chance to revive dialogue and pursue a just and lasting peace”, although he acknowledged that no concrete steps were achieved.
There were no post-summit statements from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro or Kosovo at time of publication.
Ukrainian president to meet Trump on Monday
Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington DC on Monday after Trump’s summit with Putin resulted in no ceasefire deal. European leaders have been invited to attend the Monday meeting.
The Ukrainian president tweeted that “All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine.”
Trump wrote in a post on social media platform Truth Social that, “If it all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin."