G7 leaders express cautious hope for Ukraine peace after Trump-Zelenskiy meeting

EVIAN-LES-BAINS: G7 leaders voiced guarded optimism about prospects for ending the war in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump said Russia should move toward a settlement following what he described as a very good meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday.

The more upbeat tone at the summit came against the backdrop of the conflict entering its fifth year, and contrasted sharply with Zelenskiy’s Oval Office meeting with Trump last year, when the Ukrainian leader was told he had no leverage in prospective talks with Moscow.

Zelenskiy and his European allies arrived at the G7 gathering in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains seeking to convince Trump that Ukraine’s position on the battlefield had improved, including through drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. Trump, who came to the summit carrying a preliminary agreement aimed at ending his war with Iran, said he would try to help bring the Ukraine conflict to a close, although no specific new measures to increase pressure on Moscow were outlined.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said Russia should reach an agreement and pointed to continued deaths among young soldiers on both sides of the front line. "Look, Russia should make a deal," Trump told reporters, adding that too many young men were dying on the battlefield on both sides. "I'm gonna do whatever I can."

European leaders welcome Trump’s remarks

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump’s comments that Russia should end the war offered grounds for encouragement. Merz said he found the US president cooperative and attentive during discussions with leaders at the summit.

"I found him to be very cooperative, and I also saw him listening very attentively," Merz told reporters. "And in that respect, once again, it gives me a certain degree of optimism that we here, as Europeans and as Americans, are now doing everything we can, together, to end the war."

After the group session with Trump, Zelenskiy told Reuters that G7 leaders agreed Russia was not winning the war. He also said they discussed further sanctions aimed at Russian oil exports, the banking sector and military production in an effort to push Moscow toward negotiations.

Putin meeting proposal also discussed

Zelenskiy, who was scheduled to hold face-to-face talks with Trump later on Tuesday, said he had offered to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit. However, a Kremlin aide said the matter did not arise during a call between Trump and Putin.

The summit discussions reflected renewed diplomatic activity around the war, with Ukraine and its European partners trying to secure stronger US backing while keeping the focus on pressure tactics that could bring Russia to the negotiating table.