The US-Russia Alaska talks come to a close, revealing differences in views between Europe, the US, and Ukraine. Zelensky will visit the US next Monday.

After the meeting between the leaders of the US and Russia in Alaska, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and European countries all made public statements one after another, once again showing the complexity of the Ukrainian issue. According to reports from CCTV News, Global Times, and The Paper, both Trump and Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that they will meet again on Monday. This also means that the high level of uncertainty faced by the financial markets will continue into the next week. It was reported that Trump held a phone call with Zelensky and leaders of NATO and European countries on the plane back from Alaska. After the call, he posted on social media that President Zelensky would visit Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon and go to the Oval Office. If everything goes well, a meeting with President Putin will be arranged afterwards. As a key statement to advance a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Trump stated, "The best way to end the terrible war between Russia and Ukraine is to directly achieve a peace agreement to end the war, rather than just signing a ceasefire agreement that is difficult to maintain." Of note, during the media interview after the meeting, Trump publicly advised Zelensky to "make a deal," and he also said, "Russia is a very powerful country, while Ukraine is not." Considering that Ukraine and Europe have always emphasized "ceasefire first, then discuss a ceasefire agreement," how to resolve this key contradiction will be the main focus of their meeting on Monday. This is also the first visit of Zelensky to the United States since being publicly confronted by Trump and Pence for being "disrespectful" in the Oval Office at the end of February. Zelensky later confirmed in a post that he will meet with Trump on Monday to discuss all the details. He also called for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, and emphasized that European parties should be involved at every stage to ensure reliable security along with the US. It was also reported on Saturday that European leaders were also invited to participate in the meeting on Monday, with further details awaiting confirmation. The French presidential palace issued a statement on Saturday saying that several countries supporting Ukraine will hold a video conference on Sunday, with French President Macron, German Chancellor Merkel, and British Prime Minister Johnson co-hosting the meeting. Regarding the outcome of the US-Russia leaders' meeting, there are also parts that the European side hopes to emphasize. German Chancellor Merkel stated on Saturday that the US is prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, rather than leaving the matter entirely to Europe. In a joint statement issued by leaders of multiple European countries, the European Council, and the European Commission on Saturday, it emphasized that "Ukraine must receive ironclad security guarantees," and welcomed the statement by Trump that the US is prepared to provide security guarantees. According to Italian Prime Minister Meloni, Trump emphasized a security guarantee proposal put forward by Italy during the dialogue with European leaders, which is said to be inspired by Article 5 of NATO's collective defense treaty. It is reported that the premise of this security guarantee is to reach a peace agreement, followed by the US and Europe providing security guarantees similar to Article 5, but without involving NATO. At the same time, Russian President Putin held a meeting at the Kremlin on Saturday to brief on the results of the Alaska summit. Putin stated that Russia respects the US position and hopes to resolve the Ukrainian crisis peacefully. Putin said that the visit to Alaska was timely and very beneficial, and all aspects of Russian-American cooperation were discussed at the summit, but the primary issue was mediating the Ukrainian issue. During the visit to Alaska, he discussed the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis with President Trump on a fair basis, and discussed the origins of the crisis. He pointed out that eliminating its root causes should be the basis for mediating the crisis. This article is sourced from Caixin, authored by Shi Qingcheng, edited by Wang Qiujia.