Notification of coordination comes from Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and several colleagues spoke on the phone with Trump in connection with Friday's European summit in Tirana, Albania.
The Russian position is clearly unacceptable. We are adjusting and coordinating our responses now, says Starmer according to news agency AP – but without going into any details.
"Our opinion – if Russia rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and a stop to the killing – is that tough sanctions must follow", writes Zelensky on X about the conversation with Trump.
"Afraid to come"
The Ukrainian president is not impressed by Vladimir Putin's unwillingness to meet him in direct talks in Istanbul.
Everyone knows that we had a real chance to take important steps towards ending this war, if only Putin had not been afraid to come to Turkey, says Zelensky, who accuses Russia of wanting to create "an empty process".
"Very concerned"
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) had his own meeting with Zelensky in Tirana and clearly feels the frustration.
I am very concerned about the situation. Everything suggests that Russia will continue exactly the same line they have had all the time. They say yes to various meetings that they do not mean anything with and obstruct various meetings, says Kristersson to TT and SR Ekot in Albania.
The Prime Minister would like the US Congress to proceed with the comprehensive trade measures prepared to put pressure on Russia. But in the end, it also requires political will from US President Donald Trump and his administration.
We are clearly not there yet, says Kristersson.
Swedish aircraft?
In the meantime, the European countries are working further on their plans to guarantee Ukraine's security physically in the event of a peace agreement. According to the Prime Minister, the plans are increasingly taking shape.
The Swedish Supreme Commander was in Belgium yesterday and planned more in detail with the most like-minded exactly which different resources different European countries could provide to create this coalition, when the conditions are in place, says Kristersson.
We have put on the table very clearly what we can do. As (Defense Minister) Pål Jonson has said several times: it's primarily about air capability for Sweden's part. We could also do significant things at sea, says the Prime Minister in Tirana.
The European Political Community (EPC) is a loose association for Europe's countries – except for the so far non-invited Russia and Belarus.
The idea came from French President Emmanuel Macron after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, hoping to gather Europe's leaders to regular summits, regardless of whether their countries are in the EU or not.
The work is taking place in the form of summits for heads of state and government once every six months. Previous meetings have been held in the Czech Republic in 2022, Moldova and Spain in 2023, as well as the United Kingdom and Hungary last year. After Albania, the next meeting will be held in Denmark in the autumn.
