Emergency meeting of European leaders to respond to Trump's negotiations with Russia
The European Union, United Kingdom and NATO were convened in Paris by Emmanuel Macron for talks over a possible treaty in Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron, French president, before the meeting in Paris.
Europe is reacting to changes in global geopolitics. French President Emmanuel Macron called European Union leaders, plus the United Kingdom, to address the latest developments in Ukraine triggered by Donald Trump, which hint at a possible peace deal with Russia.
Joining the meeting in Paris was NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte from the Netherlands. Together, the bloc will try to act according to the same compass in order not to be left out of the negotiations that will put an end to the war.
Mistrust began after a call on Wednesday between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the start of talks. This conversation triggered a series of statements and announcements that point to the diplomatic talks between Washington and Moscow being in motion.
Trump assured on Sunday that he could meet "very soon" with Putin, and the Kremlin signaled on Monday that a meeting is planned on Tuesday in Riyadh between senior Russian and U.S. officials. The U.S. State Department insisted that Washington does not see the meeting as the start of "a negotiation" on Ukraine, although it will seek to restore bridges of dialogue with Russia that were burnt during the Biden administration.
Europe's security is at a "turning point," assured Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, before the start of the meeting in the French capital. "Yes, it is about Ukraine—but it is also about us. We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge [in spending] on defense. And we need both of them now," she wrote on X.
Macron and Trump spoke ahead of the summit
France, along with Germany and the United Kingdom, have led military shipments to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. They are also the countries with the most diplomatic leverage vis-à-vis the United States and Russia, and also the most military capabilities.
"We believe that, as a result of the acceleration of the Ukrainian issue and what the U.S. leaders are saying, we Europeans have to do more, better and more coherently for our collective security," a Macron advisor detailed on Sunday.
In Munich, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his European allies to strengthen their unity and urged them to create a European military.
The head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, declared, like Zelensky, that negotiations on Ukraine "cannot work" without the Europeans.
Ahead of the announcement of the meeting between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Zelensky insisted on Monday that his country will not recognize any agreement concluded without him on its future and criticized the fact that Kiev was not informed of the talks. The president will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
European countries fear that Putin may reiterate demands he made before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These included limiting NATO forces in Eastern Europe and U.S. involvement on the continent.
US assures that it will not impose any agreement
Kellogg is scheduled to arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday to begin three days of talks, including a meeting with the president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader said Monday that he intends to bring the emissary personally to the front line.
The retired military officer said it would be up to Zelensky to decide whether to accept an eventual agreement carved out by the United States. "The Ukrainians' decision is a Ukrainian decision," Kellogg told reporters after meeting with representatives of NATO countries in Brussels.
"Zelensky is the elected leader of a sovereign nation and those decisions are his and nobody will impose those on an elected leader of a sovereign nation," he said. The U.S. emissary insisted that his job is to "facilitate" an agreement that would ensure "guarantees."
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