European leaders seek call with Trump ahead of Putin talks: Merz

The leaders of Britain, Germany, and France want talks with US President Donald Trump ahead of his conversation Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine conflict, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

Merz said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the phone conversation scheduled between the two leaders, a Germany government statement said Sunday.

"We (the heads of state and government of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany) have agreed to speak again with the American president to prepare for this discussion," he added.

Merz was speaking from the Vatican, where he was attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV.

Several other political leaders were present in Rome, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"The Europeans and Americans are determined to work together, in a targeted way, so that this terrible war ends quickly," said Merz.

"We have made some small steps forward in recent days ..., the parties to the conflict are talking to each other," he added.

Friday's talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, the first direct contact between the two sides in more than three years, failed to produce a ceasefire.

The three European leaders had already held talks with Donald Trump on Friday, along with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Zelensky met with US Vice President JD Vance for "about half an hour" on Sunday in Rome, after meeting the pope, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Germany is the second-largest provider of military aid to Kyiv after the United States.