European leaders largely heralded the Alaska summit held between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend as a key step toward ending the Ukraine war.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he “welcomed” the president’s efforts to “achieve a just and lasting peace,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the summit represented “important progress,” Italian Prime Minister Giergia Meloni hailed Friday as a “glimmer of hope,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “the world is a safer place than it was yesterday,” and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico praised Trump for launching “a vital process.”

Following the high-stakes Friday encounter, Trump also held a call with allies to debrief them on his hours-long conversation with Putin, with

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