MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. EU leaders work furiously to bring Donald Trump over to their side ahead of Friday's Russia-US summit; overlapping interests pave the way for Russia-US cooperation in the Arctic; and Trump’s Golden Dome project raises the risk of an arms race in space. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
The European Union is adamant that Ukraine must have a seat at the negotiating table with Russia, and that a ceasefire must be laid down, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said following an online summit involving the leaders of the EU, Ukraine and the US on Wednesday. Still, many in the EU doubt that US President Donald Trump will be swayed by Europe’s demands, Vedomosti writes.
The Europeans are uneasy about what might come out of the upcoming Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In their view, the meeting’s outcome could highlight a new trend in international relations, one in which the US and Russia make far-reaching decisions without taking into account the opinions of the EU and Ukraine, Western media outlets note.
The EU seeks to limit the US president’s freedom of action with regard to the Alaska summit, Lev Sokolshchik, researcher with the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, believes. The Berlin meeting between Zelensky and European leaders marks an attempt to seize the political agenda.
