European leaders largely heralded the Alaska summit held between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend as a key step toward ending the Ukraine war. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he “welcomed” the president’s efforts to “achieve a just and lasting peace;

European leaders on Saturday said they welcomed President Trump’s efforts to bring peace to Ukraine but pushed for more “ironclad security guarantees” after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While the leaders emphasized areas of agreement and appeared to rekindle their personal rapport, no concrete steps toward a ceasefire were announced