EU backs Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin talks; Orbán explains opposition

This follows from the text of the document obtained by European Pravda.

The statement reaffirms that borders cannot be changed by force, Ukraine’s future is decided only by its people, and negotiations are possible only after hostilities stop or at least decrease.

EU leaders stressed that the European Union, in coordination with the United States and other close partners, will continue to provide political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and will continue to maintain and introduce restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.

They also said the EU and its member states are ready to further contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine.

The European Union underlines Ukraine’s inalienable right to choose its own destiny and will continue to support Ukraine on its path to EU membership, the statement says.

The document ends with the note that Hungary did not join this statement.

What Orban says

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban explained on X why he did not support the statement.

“The statement attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited,” he wrote.

“The fact that the EU was left on the sidelines is sad enough as it is. The only thing that could make things worse is if we started providing instructions from the bench,” he added.

He believes the EU should initiate its own summit with Russia, similar to the US–Russia meeting.

Zelenskyy’s reaction

The President of Ukraine thanked European leaders for supporting Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity and for active diplomacy aimed at a fair peace. He said all parties share US President Donald Trump’s determination and must jointly form positions that prevent Russia from misleading the world again.

He stressed that Russia’s army is not preparing to stop fighting but is instead moving to prepare new offensives. In this situation, he said, maintaining international unity is key.

The president added that any security decisions must strengthen collective defense, and Russia’s refusal to end the war must have consequences. As long as the aggression and occupation continue, Ukraine and its partners must, he said, increase pressure on Moscow: militarily, through sanctions, and diplomatically.

Trump’s planned meeting with Putin

On August 8, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. and Russian officials are exploring a possible deal to end the war, which would leave Russia in control of occupied Ukrainian territories.

That same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine would include some territorial exchange.

He later announced he would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15.

Before the Trump–Putin meeting, senior officials from the U.S., Ukraine, and European countries will meet to agree on joint positions.

Media reports also suggested that Volodymyr Zelenskyy could join the meeting between the U.S. leader and the Russian dictator. However, at an August 11 briefing, Trump said he would meet with Putin first, and later there might be a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy or all three.