The diplomatic timetable unfolding in Berlin today is no accident. It is a deliberately staged sequence designed to send a political signal as much as to set policy.
It is a clear reminder that the war is between Russia and Ukraine, and Russia can’t reach a ceasefire deal in a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that doesn’t even include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
By opening with a closed-door, European-only huddle, leaders from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Finland, and EU institutions created a secure space to hash out differences, reinforce red lines, and build consensus before any American participation.
This step was critical in the wake of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s claim that “Russia has won the war,” a comment that risked undermining the bloc’s unity just days before a high-stakes U.S.–Russia meeting. Orban is a long-standing enigma because Hungary is a NATO member, but he routinely sides with Russia and supports Putin’s actions, including the war in Ukraine.
From there, the agenda is expected to move to a joint call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance to ensure that Washington hears a united European message before Friday’s Alaska summit with Putin.
The aim was to box in the diplomatic parameters of any ceasefire discussion: Ukraine must remain at the table, territorial concessions are unacceptable, and any end to fighting must be backed by enforceable security guarantees. For Kyiv, this was about preventing the kind of bilateral deal-making that could sideline its government entirely.
Finally, a “coalition of the willing” session will shift focus from pre-summit signaling to practical post-ceasefire planning. Here, the conversation will center on which nations would commit to policing or monitoring an eventual truce, how to sustain military and economic support for Ukraine during a fragile peace, and how to deter Russia from exploiting a ceasefire to rearm and regroup.
This is where rhetoric meets operational reality, and where Europe’s willingness to bear the cost of enforcement will be tested.
Taken together, the sequence of meetings reflects an acute awareness in European capitals that the Alaska talks are not just another diplomatic encounter. They could redefine the trajectory of the war. By controlling the order and structure of today’s events, Berlin and its allies sought to maximize strategic alignment before Trump and Putin meet face-to-face.
The choreography itself is a form of deterrence, signaling to Moscow that any agreement reached in Alaska will face a disciplined, coordinated, and skeptical Western front.
If the purpose was to remind both Washington and Moscow that Europe intends to be more than a bystander in decisions about Ukraine’s future, today’s Berlin summit delivers that message with precision. The question now is whether that unity will hold once the Alaska summit begins.
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