European leaders insist that any peace negotiations with Russia must include Ukraine
Ahead of Trump-Putin negotiations, European authorities advise that Kyiv be included in any peace agreement that ends the conflict in Ukraine.
Rejecting attempts to exclude Kyiv from its own destiny, European leaders have made it clear that Ukraine must be included in any peace talks with Russia.
A joint statement released late Saturday by the European Commission, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Finland stated that “without Ukraine, the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided.” The leaders emphasized that “international borders must not be changed by force” and reiterated their determination to provide Ukraine with financial, military, and diplomatic support.
The announcement coincides with US President Donald Trump’s efforts to settle the war by meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Trump has alluded to a potential trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but for the time being, the negotiations are still scheduled between Moscow and Washington—at Russia’s insistence.
European leaders are worried that Kyiv won’t be included in important choices pertaining to its own sovereignty. Any deals reached without Ukraine, Zelensky said, would be “dead decisions,” and “we will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated.”
According to CBS, the White House is considering a compromise that would provide Russia power over the entire Donbas region and allow it to retain Crimea, a proposal that Ukraine and European officials have strongly opposed. Moscow is pursuing territorial exchanges that would only give it “more convenient positions to resume the war,” Zelensky charged.
Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his opinion on X, tweeting that Europe ought to contribute to the solution “because their own security is at stake.” With sanctions and military assistance for Kyiv, Europe has continued to take a tough stance against Moscow.
While in the UK on Saturday, US Vice-President JD Vance met with senior Ukrainian officials and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Zelensky’s office chief, Andriy Yermak, informed Vance that “a reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table.”
Joe Biden’s 2021 meeting with Putin in Geneva, nine months before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began, would be the first time the two countries’ current presidents have met in Alaska. Since then, warfare has continued throughout eastern Ukraine with no clear winner, and Russia has annexed four Ukrainian territories without complete control.
