European leaders will join Ukraine's Zelenskyy for a meeting in Washington days after Donald Trump's summit with Russia's Putin in Alaska.

European leaders are to join the Ukrainian president during a visit that seeks a path to ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Melania Trump took the unique step of crafting a letter calling for peace in Ukraine, having her husband Donald Trump deliver it to Vladimir Putin.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz credited U.S. President Donald Trump with persuading Russia's President to agree to a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. This meeting, to which Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call with Trump,

Jolted by President Trump’s support for possible land swaps in Ukraine, they went to back President Volodymyr Zelensky, a move that appeared to have accomplished its goal.

The highly anticipated summit ended without a breakthrough. Afterwards, Trump said Ukraine and Russia should proceed straight to seeking a full peace deal instead of a cease-fire.

The meeting represented a diplomatic victory for Putin after Western leaders ostracized him at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just a week earlier, Trump was threatening him with new sanctions.