An Appeal to the German Government ahead of the Trump-Putin summit

Thomas Enders (President of the German Council on Foreign Relations) and Marieluise Beck /​ Ralf Fücks (Center for Liberal Modernity)

Five essen­tials that Europe must now stand for.

An appeal to the German government ahead of the Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

Dear Mr. Chancellor,

when President Trump meets with Vladimir Putin this Friday to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, the future of Europe will also be at stake.

We call on the German government to work with our European partners in the run-up to this summit to make it clear that:

1. European govern­ments will not agree to a “peace plan” that is imposed on President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government.
2. There will be no recog­nition of Russia’s military conquests in Ukraine.
3. Ukraine’s political sover­eignty, including its foreign policy orien­tation, must not be restricted.
4. Ukraine’s integration into the European community is non-negotiable.
5. A ceasefire must be secured by robust security guarantees for Ukraine. Europe is prepared to make a signif­icant contri­bution to this.

However, European interests and demands will only carry weight if the German government, together with its partners, does every­thing in its power to ensure that Ukraine can conduct future negoti­a­tions on an end to the war from a position of military strength.

Berlin, 12 August 2025

Tom Enders President of the German Council on Foreign Relations

Marieluise Beck and Ralf Fücks, Center for Liberal Modernity