The bloc is divided about how to confront Russia over its war in Ukraine.

The news conference is taking place just hours before Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff meets with senior officials from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar to discuss the next phase of the Republican president’s Gaza ceasefire plan, progress on which has moved slowly since it was announced in October.

The president said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” with European leaders, while Russia signaled it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump's August summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, is looming large as the White House presses its latest effort to secure a peace deal ending Moscow's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

President Donald Trump on Monday described an end to the war in Ukraine as closer than ever, with American officials earlier in the day suggesting beefed-up security guarantees for Kyiv had advanced the peace talks — but that the US offer would not be on the table forever.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Poland's MAGA-aligned President Karol Nawrocki in Warsaw on Friday as the Ukrainian leader tries to shore up relations with a key ally at a crucial moment for Kyiv's war effort.

KYIV, Ukraine -- KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “hasn’t read” a U.S-authored peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Follow live updates from NBC News as Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at his annual year-end news conference on Ukraine, peace, war and Trump.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff will meet in Miami on Friday with the national security advisers of Ukraine, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Axios reported, citing two sources.