In a bid to influence the outcome of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, key European leaders got on a video call with the US president as Germany hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that Europe, the US and NATO"strengthened the common ground for Ukraine," and will remain in close coordination.
The EU's diplomatic intervention was aimed at impressing upon Trump the bloc's collective desire for peace, but also to brief him on the suspected motives of his Russian counterpart ? and warn against conceding Ukrainian territory in the talks.
There was some hope that the European allies may have managed to convince Trump against selling out Ukrainian and European interests. Still, since they will remain far away while Trump and Putin hold closed-door talks, tensions over what may transpire remain palpable.
What does Europe hope for from Trump-Putin talks?
During Wednesday's call, Ukraine and its European allies said they wanted a ceasefire before commencing any negotiations with Russia.
Trump seems to have made a note of that, though it's not a precondition for him ? he believes a ceasefire "would be a show of goodwill from Russia," reported CNN.
Even though Trump is meeting Putin without Zelenskyy in Alaska, he indicated there might be a trilateral meeting including the Ukrainian president soon.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the trilateral could take place in a neutral country in Europe after the tete-a-tete in Alaska.
Trump has said earlier swapping some territory may be necessary to end the war. But after speaking to the Europeans, he said no such concessions would be made without Zelenskyy at the table.
And while Trump is still opposed to Ukraine joining NATO ? which Kyiv has long said was essential as a security guarantee, experts suggest the US may be more open to offering some other sort of assurance to deter future Russian aggression.
"The nature of US security guarantees and practical contributions would be subject to further negotiations," Kristine Berzina, a Washington, D.C.-based senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund (GMF), told DW.
Europe wants Russia to pay up and Trump to make sure it does
Ukraine and the EU also expect the US to ask Russia to pay part of the massive reconstruction bill as part of future negotiations.
It is estimated to cost between $500 billion and $1 trillion to repair the damage caused by Russian bombings in Ukraine. Kyiv and its supporters argue a part of that should come from frozen Russian assets, about €200 billion of which are located in Belgium, predominantly in a bank called Euroclear.
There is also a push for President Trump to ask for the return for thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, as well as Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The bloc also hopes the US will tighten its screws and impose secondary sanctions on Russia if the Russian president refuses to hold fire.
And what does Europe fear?
Despite some relief after the call there are still fears that Putin may outwit Trump.
Europe faces a difficult scenario if Putin convinces Trump to cut off weapons supply to Ukraine, even through European partners, and intelligence sharing, since Ukraine needs both US military equipment and reconnaissance.
Another one of Europe's fears is that the US may withdraw its assets from the continent and make the alliance weaker.
"Russia wants to push the US out of eastern Europe and assert military dominance. Putin could use this meeting to encourage the US to withdraw troops from Europe," said Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). This is a worrying possibility since, "the US is already reviewing its global force posturing."
"In that case first and foremost the Europeans would need to shore up their own defenses" in eastern European nations, Loss said.
"US force reductions are anticipated, though the scale of the withdrawal is not yet clear," said Berzina of the GMF. "But of course, this process is happening at the same time as the Ukraine and Russia negotiations are taking shape. It will be tricky for the US to withdraw troops from Europe if it wants to signal to Russia that the US is deeply committed to European security."
