European leaders celebrate Trump-Putin summit as Russian strikes continue

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.”