At G7 in Évian, Trump Calls on Russia to Make Peace — While Europe Pushes for More

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Trump and Zelenskyy Meet Face to Face

What had been uncertain just 24 hours earlier became reality on Tuesday: U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down for direct talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French lakeside resort of Évian-les-Bains. Trump called the meeting "very good."

Trump was unusually direct in his public message afterward: "Russia should make a deal," he told reporters. "I'm gonna do whatever I can." He added that too many young men were dying on both sides of the front line — a rare acknowledgment of the human cost that has defined his messaging on Ukraine in recent months.

The bilateral meeting was preceded by a broader G7 session that included Zelenskyy alongside all seven leaders. Zelenskyy used that moment to show Trump photographs of the aftermath of a Russian missile strike that hit Kyiv's historic Pechersk Lavra monastery complex on Monday. Trump expressed clear disapproval, according to European diplomats present. One diplomat described the move as psychologically effective.

Battlefield Momentum Shifts the Conversation

The tone inside the summit rooms was notably different from previous G7 gatherings. European leaders arrived with evidence they believe changes the strategic calculus: Ukraine's expanded drone campaign has been striking deeper into Russian territory, disrupting supply lines and damaging energy infrastructure. The results, European officials argue, are showing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put it plainly: the tide, she said, has turned in Ukraine's favor. Russia's fatigue is becoming visible, she argued — and that makes continued support more important, not less. She also confirmed the first disbursement of a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, designed to cover roughly two-thirds of Kyiv's financial needs for 2026 and 2027.

European diplomats told reporters that G7 leaders had collectively agreed the battlefield situation now favors Ukraine. A joint commitment to deliver additional air defense systems to Kyiv was also confirmed.

Trump Noncommittal on New Sanctions

Despite the positive atmosphere around the Zelenskyy meeting, European leaders did not get everything they came for. On the central question of tightening sanctions against Russia, Trump held back. Two European diplomats confirmed he gave no commitment on imposing further U.S. punitive measures against Moscow.

Trump did note one shift: with the Iran preliminary ceasefire agreement in place, Washington would now allow existing waivers on Russian oil exports to expire — a step short of new sanctions, but a meaningful signal. European leaders had hoped Trump would go further, particularly given Ukraine's improved military position.

Zelenskyy told reporters his immediate priority was strengthening air defenses for Ukraine. He also confirmed that tougher sanctions against Russia had been discussed — but acknowledged that bringing Washington fully onboard remains a work in progress.

European leaders have long argued that tighter pressure, including secondary sanctions targeting countries that continue buying Russian oil, would accelerate a diplomatic resolution. Trump has so far resisted that framing, arguing that economic pressure alone cannot substitute for direct diplomacy.

Trump Arrives With a Deal — and a Message

When Trump arrived in France on Monday evening, he brought something concrete with him: a preliminary ceasefire agreement with Iran, along with a credible timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz — the critical oil waterway whose partial closure had unsettled global energy markets for months. Trump said the strait would be "completely open" by Friday.

Tuesday's working lunch focused heavily on that issue, with leaders also exploring alternative shipping routes in case the Hormuz reopening is delayed. The preliminary deal is designed to open a 60-day window for more complex technical negotiations — covering Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the future of international sanctions against Tehran.

Trump was blunt in drawing a contrast with earlier diplomacy. The current deal, he said, was nothing like the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under President Barack Obama — which he had withdrawn from during his first term.

Europe's Iran Concerns — A Seat at the Table

European leaders welcomed the Iran development but were careful not to celebrate prematurely. France, Britain, and Germany — historically the primary Western interlocutors with Tehran on nuclear issues — worry that the current U.S. negotiating team may not secure sufficiently strong terms on Iran's ballistic missile program or its nuclear enrichment capacity.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the priority was to ensure a "solid, serious agreement" would follow the preliminary deal. France and Britain have also been quietly preparing a possible joint maritime mission to help clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz — a role they hope to take on once the political window opens.

Whether the European powers will be given a formal seat in the next round of technical negotiations with Tehran remains an open question.

Zelenskyy's Position: Improved, but Dependent

Zelenskyy arrived at Évian in a stronger diplomatic position than at many previous summits. Ukraine's battlefield advances — particularly the drone strikes deep inside Russia — have given Kyiv new leverage. He offered to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin directly at the summit itself to open peace talks. Putin declined.

Zelenskyy's ask to Trump was multifaceted: stronger air defenses, more sanctions pressure on Russia, and a clearer European role in any future peace architecture. He called on Trump to use his influence to bring Moscow to serious negotiations. Trump said he believed both sides were open to ending the war — but offered no specific roadmap.

Kyiv is increasingly dependent on European financial support. The Kiel Institute estimates that sustaining Ukraine's war effort without full U.S. military funding could cost European taxpayers an additional $43 billion per year.

A Strategy Built for Yesterday's World?

The deeper tension at Évian is strategic. Most European governments are still operating from a framework built in 2022 — when the assumptions were that sanctions would weaken Russia quickly, that Western unity would hold, and that Washington would remain fully committed to the war effort.

Four years on, those assumptions have been tested. Russia remains under pressure but has not collapsed. Trump has fundamentally redefined the United States' role in the conflict. And European economies are straining under the combined weight of energy costs, Chinese industrial competition, and decades of underinvestment in defense.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney put it directly in a speech in Dublin just before the summit: the world is not going through a quiet transition, but a fundamental rupture. The rules-based international order built after the Cold War is cracking.

That diagnosis is widely shared. But the prescription being offered by most European leaders at Évian — more sanctions, more weapons, more pressure — looks more like a continuation of the old playbook than an adaptation to new realities.

Trump, whatever his critics say about his approach, has arrived at Évian with something Europe's institutional machinery has not yet produced: tangible progress. His Iran deal, however imperfect, represents movement. Whether that same pragmatic instinct can eventually bring Russia to serious negotiations on Ukraine remains the central unanswered question — not just in Évian, but for the future of European security.

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Sources:

1. Reuters — "Trump calls for Russia deal with Zelenskyy, vague on pressure" — https://www.reuters.com/world/china/europeans-test-trump-iran-deal-risks-urge-ukraine-rethink-g7-2026-06-16/
2. Euronews — "G7 summit live: US to focus again on Ukraine after Iran deal, Trump says" — https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/06/15/g7-summit-leaders-set-to-arrive-in-evian-after-us-iran-ceasefire-deal
3. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty — "White House Says Iran, Ukraine, High On Trump's G7 Agenda" — https://www.rferl.org/amp/33779774.html
4. Yahoo News / Reuters — "Exclusive — Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU as US wavers" — https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-ukraine-ask-eu-lead-080013900.html
5. Geneva Solutions — "What can G7 achieve amid Ukraine and Iran wars, economic crisis and aid cuts?" — https://genevasolutions.news/global-news/what-can-g7-achieve-amid-ukraine-and-iran-wars-economic-crisis-and-aid

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