European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russian President Vladimir Putin aims mainly for a "photo opportunity" with U.S. President Donald Trump at their planned meeting in Alaska this Friday and hopes to secure a postponement of additional Western sanctions on Moscow. Kallas told CNBC that Putin is "pretending to negotiate" over the war in Ukraine, citing the absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the talks as evidence the Kremlin is not seeking a serious settlement. She warned that any agreement reached without Kyiv and the EU would be difficult to implement and could jeopardize Europe’s security. European leaders are convening a virtual summit to coordinate pressure on Russia and explore security guarantees for Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin encounter. Washington has threatened further sanctions but has yet to impose them, while the EU struggles to maintain unity on punitive measures. Kallas stressed that Russia could end the conflict immediately by halting attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.