Legal recognition of the Russian occupation is not under discussion. What Zelensky, Trump and EU leaders talked about before Alaska

Ukraine is ready to discuss territorial issues, but legal recognition of the territories occupied by Russia is not under discussion.

This was stated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the US President Donald Trump, and EU leaders.

Merz named five main positions that were discussed at the meeting. These are:

• Ukraine should sit at the negotiating table if there is a next meeting after the Trump-Putin meeting.
• A ceasefire should be the first step. Then the main elements should be agreed upon in a framework agreement.
• Ukraine is ready to discuss territorial issues, but the starting point will be the contact line; legal recognition of the occupied territories is not under discussion.
• The negotiations must include reliable security guarantees for Kyiv, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine must be capable of defending Ukraineʼs sovereignty.
• Negotiations should be part of a transatlantic strategy.

According to him, the leaders agreed that immediately after the meeting with the Kremlin leader, Trump would first inform Volodymyr Zelensky about its content, and then European leaders.

Zelensky hopes that the central topic of the meeting in Alaska will be an immediate ceasefire.

"Any issues that concern the territorial integrity of our state cannot be discussed without the will of our people and despite the Constitution of Ukraine," the president added.

What preceded

The Wall Street Journal reported that on August 6, Putin presented the Trump administration with a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine. In the first phase, Ukraine would withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region and freeze the front line. In the second phase, Putin and Trump would agree on a final peace plan, which would then be discussed with Zelensky.

A WSJ source says that Putin called for a halt to the war on the current lines in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

European partners and Ukraine responded to Putinʼs plan with a counter-proposal on August 9. It states that the parties must achieve a ceasefire before any other steps can be taken.

And the exchange of territories can only be carried out on a reciprocal basis, meaning that if Ukraine withdraws troops from some regions, Russia must withdraw troops from others. Ukraineʼs territorial concessions must be protected by security guarantees, including potential NATO membership.

"Ukrainians will not give away their land," said President Zelensky in response to the announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting. He emphasized that the Ukrainian Constitution has a clear answer about territories.

• Putin and Trump will meet in Alaska on August 15. The main topic of the meeting is the war in Ukraine.
• Trump previously claimed that there was a "good chance" of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. However, Putin himself, commenting on the possibility of meeting with Zelensky, stated that there were currently no suitable conditions for this.

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