At G7 Summit, Trump Vows to Do Whatever It Takes to Broker Russia-Ukraine Peace

US President Donald Trump has stated that Russia must make a peace deal with Ukraine, speaking during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the G7 summit in France. Trump said he would do everything in his power to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. ‘I will do whatever I can,’ Trump said, as quoted by Reuters on Tuesday. Trump arrived at the G7 summit, held from 15-17 June 2026 at a lakeside resort in Evian-les-Bains, bringing a preliminary agreement to end the conflict with Iran and a renewed focus on ending the war in Ukraine. He praised his meeting with Zelenskiy and other G7 leaders in a closed session on Tuesday and is set to hold a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian leader later. Zelenskiy and European diplomats hope to convince Trump that Ukraine’s fortunes have improved as Kyiv pushes for more support to strengthen its negotiating position with Moscow. ‘The main focus is strengthening Ukraine’s air defence and advancing diplomacy, to make Russia end its war,’ Zelenskiy wrote on X after the meeting. ‘Peace is needed,’ he added. European diplomats described the atmosphere of the meeting as constructive. ‘It now appears we have a shared analysis: that Russia is now in a defensive position,’ one diplomat said, adding that Trump stayed until the end of the session. European diplomats aim to persuade Trump that the previous US stance on possible deal terms was too favourable to Moscow. ‘The situation has turned for Ukraine. The situation in 2026 is very different from 2025. Ukraine is bravely holding the front line,’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. ‘Russia’s exhaustion is evident. It is time to redouble our support,’ she continued. Zelenskiy is pushing for new momentum and a greater European role. He said on Monday that he had offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit. Putin has repeatedly rejected the idea of direct talks with Zelenskiy unless they are held in Moscow. European leaders will also warn Trump that a superficial, temporary deal with Iran risks strengthening Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. French President Emmanuel Macron said his priority is ensuring a ‘solid and serious deal is concluded’. He said a working lunch on Tuesday would focus on the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including a possible French-British-led maritime mission. The meeting will also seek to identify alternative routes to bypass the waterway, which has been largely closed by Iran since shortly after it was attacked by the US and Israel in late February. Trump said the strait would be ‘fully open’ by Friday. The interim deal would open a 60-day window for complex technical negotiations covering Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the lifting of international sanctions. However, European allies fear that an inexperienced US negotiating team may fail to secure a robust nuclear agreement or address Iran’s ballistic missile programme in the next phase, potentially creating a prolonged stalemate. France, Britain, and Germany want a role in shaping the upcoming talks after being sidelined in recent months. The three nations first engaged with Iran over its nuclear programme in 2003 and later worked with then-US President Barack Obama to secure the 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump derided that deal, which he scrapped during his first term in office.