France’s President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) after a gathering on the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.
Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Photographs
Europe is vying for a say in fast-advancing Russia-Ukraine peace talks after the U.S. over the weekend exacerbated fears that Brussels could be absent from the very best degree negotiations.
European leaders are gathered in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit, swiftly assembled by French President Emmanuel Macron after hopes of Europe’s involvement turned bitter on the Munich Safety Convention.
Washington and Moscow are set to kick-start discussions to result in an finish to the close to three-year Russia-Ukraine struggle this week in Saudi Arabia, when U.S. President Donald Trump’s prime diplomat Marco Rubio sits down Tuesday with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Monday that he’ll journey to Riyadh on Wednesday, in keeping with Reuters, whereas noting that Ukraine wouldn’t be taking part in preliminary talks between the U.S. and Russia. He added {that a} additional direct assembly with Trump was more likely to comply with.
“Ukraine won’t participate. Ukraine didn’t know something about it,” he informed reporters throughout a video briefing from the United Arab Emirates, the place he was on a state go to. “Ukraine regards any negotiations on Ukraine with out Ukraine as ones that haven’t any consequence.”
It comes after Trump mentioned Sunday that Zelenskyy could be concerned in peace talks with Russia, dispelling conflicting remarks over current days from U.S. officers.
The EU and the U.Ok., nonetheless, are unlikely to have a bodily seat on the negotiating desk — both initially or as talks advance, U.S. Particular Presidential Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg mentioned Saturday.
“What we do not need to do is get into a big group dialogue,” he informed a fringe occasion in Munich, noting that allied pursuits would as a substitute be “taken into consideration.”
Russia’s Lavrov, in the meantime, weighed in on the confusion Monday, saying, “I do not know what European nations are purported to do at talks on Ukraine.”
The U.S. has as a substitute requested European allies to finish a questionnaire outlining what number of troops and capabilities they might deploy in Ukraine as safety ensures, in accordance to Reuters. Different questions embody what safety ensures Europe would view as a “enough deterrent to Russia whereas additionally guaranteeing this battle ends with an everlasting peace settlement.”
The European Union’s overseas coverage chief Kaja Kallas mentioned Saturday {that a} lasting peace settlement would not be doable with out Europe’s involvement.
“For something to work it has to have Ukrainians and Europeans as part of it, as a result of Ukrainians and Europeans are those who must additionally implement the deal right here in Europe, so with out us any deal would not simply work,” she informed CNBC’s Silvia Amaro on the sidelines of the MSC.
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen, in the meantime, warned Friday that failure to safe a “simply and lasting peace” for Ukraine wouldn’t solely “weaken Europe however it could additionally weaken the US.”
Monday’s summit in Paris contains representatives from seven European nations, together with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk. U.Ok. Prime Minister Keir Starmer can also be in attendance, with the British chief saying he hoped to behave as a conduit between Brussels and Washington when he’s set to satisfy Trump subsequent week.
Writing on Sunday within the Telegraph, Starmer mentioned if mandatory, he was ready to place British “boots on the bottom” in Ukraine to safeguard European safety and persuade Trump of Europe’s function in guaranteeing peace for Kyiv.
“U.S. needs for peace align precisely with what we wish,” Starmer mentioned Monday in Paris, in keeping with Reuters, including that the continent wanted to step up its protection spending — a longtime gripe of President Trump.
NATO Secretary Common Mark Rutte on Saturday confirmed that the navy alliance would look to improve protection spending targets when members meet for a summit in June. Whereas he did not present a particular determine, he later informed Politico’s Paul McLeary that the determine might be “significantly greater than 3%.”
