Ukraine Summit in Washington: A Dark Day for European Diplomacy

August 18, 2025, may go down in history as a dark day for European diplomacy. Three days after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, U.S. President Donald Trump, outmaneuvering European leaders, summoned them to his doorstep, saying, “Come, let me explain.” Putin had not wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Trump-Putin summit, where Ukraine was discussed. Initially, the invitation was extended only to Zelenskyy. Still, Trump later decided, rather than explaining himself to each leader one by one, to summon them collectively, as if to say, “Come together, and don’t play telephone pretending diplomacy afterward.”

Trump’s Ukraine reception day

It was, in a way, like Trump’s Ukraine reception day.
European elite leaders were there.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were all in attendance.
If Stubb hadn’t been there, the absence of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, who has worked tirelessly for Russia-Ukraine peace, could have been justified with, “Well, the NATO Secretary General is there, and Türkiye is a NATO member.” But the presence of Finland’s president, whose country joined NATO with Türkiye’s approval, invalidated that excuse. The first briefing on the Alaska Summit came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who called Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Back to Trump’s Ukraine reception day…

Zelenskyy’s dress code, etc.

The dark day for European diplomacy began with a White House warning to Zelenskyy, essentially saying, “Dress properly when meeting the president.” Zelenskyy’s khaki t-shirt was a symbol of his role as a soldier in the war against Russia, much like Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian guerrilla keffiyeh and pistol belt. Though he resisted heroically by not wearing a tie, Zelenskyy appeared in a jacket, earning Trump’s approval with a “That’s more like it.”
The European leaders, crowding into the Oval Office and lining up across from Trump at the dining table, knew—despite talk in their countries about Ukraine’s NATO membership—that it was not going to happen. In 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, Europeans thought their “strong condemnations” had rattled Russia. Now, they came to Trump, pleading for him to convince Putin to withdraw from both Crimea and Donbas.
Trump told them to forget about Crimea. For Zelenskyy, who had relied on former U.S. President Joe Biden and Western European leaders, this was truly disheartening. Everyone knew Trump was trying to persuade Putin to at least partially withdraw from Donbas.

A dark day for European diplomacy

Putin had won, and the Europeans, unwilling to accept this, stood at Trump’s doorstep hoping to return to their publics with news of not having lost. Starmer emerged from Trump’s side saying, “Progress was made.” What was the progress?
Trump had said, “Why bother with a ceasefire? A phone call to Putin is enough.” In the middle of the meeting, Trump called Putin, and the discussions continued. Then, in a moment when the microphones were left on, Trump was heard telling Macron, “Putin wants to make a deal with me.” Not with the Europeans, but with the U.S.
Washington provided yet another example of the Yalta order closing in Alaska.
Was the progress Zelenskyy saying, “I’m ready to meet with Putin”? He’s been saying that all along. It’s Putin who doesn’t want to meet and prefers to deal directly with the U.S., bypassing the Europeans. Or was it, as Trump had hinted before the Ukraine reception day, that he might take Zelenskyy along to a potential second meeting with Putin in Russia?

Security guarantees?

The Europeans, already failing miserably in the face of Israel’s atrocities in Gaza—except for countries like Spain, Ireland, Sweden, and Norway, which didn’t fall in line with Israel—have also floundered in Ukraine.
If there was any gain for the Europeans, Trump stated that Ukraine would receive “NATO-like” security guarantees, with the U.S. participating. Western European leaders told their media that the Americans had provided a “backstop.”  The U.S. is not likely to send troops to Ukraine anyway. But Trump added, “Putin wants security guarantees too.” Putin’s red line is Ukraine’s NATO membership.

Trump’s Putin game

Trump wants to keep Europe’s fear of Russia alive to secure more NATO budget contributions and reduce Europe’s defense burden on the U.S.
Putin, unconcerned about losing elections, has shown that he can sustain the war despite economic decline. Trump sees that as the war continues, Russia-China relations will grow closer. The U.S.’s global rival is no longer Russia but China, yet European leaders’ reliance on the U.S. to confront Russia works against American interests.
Trump also wants to deal with a single European representative rather than explaining himself to each leader individually.

The Turkish angle

Türkiye, which has adeptly managed the Russia-Ukraine balance regionally, is seemingly expected to stand on the sidelines when the issue escalates globally.
In a way, perhaps this is for the best. Would Erdoğan have wanted to join Trump’s Ukraine reception day delegation, only to return humiliated alongside the Europeans without even holding a joint press conference?
Now, diplomatic circles are abuzz with talk that Erdoğan’s White House visit, which failed last May, is being planned for late September. In my opinion, with the Israel-Gaza crisis ongoing, this is risky, but the decision, of course, rests with Erdoğan.