PARIS, August 20. /TASS/. European leaders are dividing roles among themselves in an attempt to influence US President Donald Trump, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing a European source.
According to it, the leaders tried this tactic during their August 18 meeting with Trump in Washington and plan to continue using it in future discussions with the US regarding the situation in Ukraine.
The Washington meeting was unique, AFP noted. Nine leaders sat around a long table and exchanged views on ways to settle the conflict in front of TV cameras from around the world.
Trump praised his European colleagues, who tried to demonstrate their importance in discussions about European security. Trump called UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer his friend, assured French President Emmanuel Macron that he had loved him from day one, and complimented German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on his wonderful tan. The US president described European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the most powerful person present.
After the meeting, Merz acknowledged that the Europeans had carefully coordinated their roles this time.
According to an AFP source, preparations for this trip began on August 16, when, after discussing the results of his talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump invited Zelensky to the White House and opened the door for several European leaders to accompany him.
Dialogue with Trump
Following the invitation, there was a series of phone calls between European capitals to discuss the possibility of EU leaders being trapped in the Oval Office and who among them could represent Europeans and engage in dialogue with Trump.
The following morning, the delegation was announced. The leaders of the major European countries — France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom — announced their intention to travel to Washington. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Trump's golfing partner, also joined the delegation.
Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte completed the lineup. According to one of the participants in the White House meeting, the NATO chief, who has long cultivated his relationship with Trump, was tasked with softening discussions with the US leader.
Each European leader addressed various details of the Ukrainian conflict. Whenever the conversation with the US leader reached an impasse, another interlocutor would join in to change the subject.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow sees only "unethical attempts" by Brussels to change Washington's position on the Ukraine settlement. He added that Russia did not hear anything constructive from the Europeans at the White House meeting.