French President Emmanuel Macron is calling a summit of European leaders on Ukraine amid tensions with the United States, a newspaper headline says. „Guardian“.
The sudden transatlantic rift over Ukraine is set to be revealed today when US officials begin preliminary talks in Riyadh with Russian officials on a ceasefire, just as Emmanuel Macron is set to host a summit of European countries in Paris to urge the US to end its exclusion of Europe and Kiev from the process.
The US-Russia talks come ahead of a planned meeting this week between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the first such meeting between the two countries in more than two years. There are fears in Europe that through the talks with the US, Russia will resume its plan to impose Ukrainian neutrality and for a joint US-Russian division of agreed spheres of influence.
The meeting in Paris will aim to outline a European plan of action after days of chaotic statements by the administration of US President Donald Trump. The summit will also have to decide how to respond to the US request to clarify whether the leaders are ready to commit troops for peacekeeping in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, the British publication says.
The meeting will be attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. France is determined that Britain will play an active role in all future discussions on Ukraine.
From “Downing Street“ 10 said that they believe that Starmer can play a key role in securing the future of Ukraine, by conveying Europe's warnings regarding the potential US-Russian dismemberment of the country directly to Trump when the British Prime Minister visits Washington next week. He will then report to other European leaders. "It's not a role we've necessarily sought, but the prime minister wants to step into it," a British source told the Guardian.
Last night, Starmer told the newspaper. „Telegraph“ that he is ready to deploy British troops to Ukraine to keep the peace.
European diplomatic sources said that the summit this afternoon will also include Italy and Denmark, representatives of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The meeting will discuss the defense capabilities that Europe could provide to give Ukraine reliable security guarantees, including a plan for automatic membership of Ukraine in the event of a clear violation of the ceasefire by Russia, notes „Guardian“.
The proposal for NATO membership conditional on Russia violating the ceasefire - possibly requiring the United States to become Ukraine's guarantor - has been launched by some US senators and already has the support of some European leaders, including the Finnish President Alexander Stubb. He noted that Russia's ambitions for spheres of influence should not be given in.
Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, briefed European leaders in Munich on the US negotiating strategy, which Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski described as unconventional.
Neither Ukraine nor European countries were invited to the talks in Riyadh. Kellogg said their views would be taken into account, adding that previous peace talks had failed because too many countries were at the negotiating table.
European leaders are divided in their response to Trump's initiatives, with some predicting the beginning of a fundamental rift between Washington and Europe, while others argue that if Europe manages to meet the US demand to improve its security, then transatlantic relations can be repaired and Europe will find a place at the negotiating table on the future of Ukraine, the British publication points out.
The US does not intend to invite Europe to the negotiating table on Ukraine, the French newspaper “Le Monde“ reports in its headline.
Still stunned by US Vice President J.D. Vance's hostile speech at the opening of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Europeans were forced to swallow even more such rhetoric on Saturday when General Keith Kellogg, President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, made it clear that his country had no intention of inviting Europe to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine, the French publication points out.
The need for Europe to regain the initiative in the face of this American offensive is becoming increasingly evident, notes “Monde“. On Saturday evening, several leaders from the Old Continent announced with satisfaction that the Elysee Palace plans to organize a meeting of the leaders of the most affected European countries today in Paris, which will also be attended by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, the French dictionary states.
On the eve of the meeting, Costa said that Europe must negotiate a “new security architecture” with Russia, the British newspaper wrote in its headline. „Financial Times“.
The EU must engage in talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine to shape Europe's future security architecture, the president of the European Council has said.
Costa's call comes as he and other European leaders prepare to meet in Paris to discuss their response to US President Donald Trump's decision to start talks to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the British publication points out.
The talks in Paris are taking place as the first US and Russian diplomats prepare for private talks in Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Trump said he wanted to hold bilateral talks with Putin to end the almost three-year war, which alarmed European countries who fear the deal could be done without their participation.
„No "it's just about Ukraine," Costa, who represents the bloc's 27 leaders, said in an interview at the Munich Security Conference this weekend. "Negotiations on a new security architecture must take into account that Russia is a global threat, not just a threat to Ukraine," he added.
On Saturday, Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said that European countries would not have a "seat at the table" for negotiations, but their opinions can be taken into account.
This came after the US sent European countries a request for information on what weapons, money and peacekeeping troops they could provide to a post-war Ukraine, which officials said was an opportunity to lobby for the right to influence the negotiations.
“Negotiations are conducted between warring parties“, said Koshta, adding: “Of course, it is necessary to conduct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. However, this war in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine. It is about European security“.
On the eve of his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin asked NATO to reduce the number of its defensive operations in Eastern European countries. NATO and its member states refused to do so, the Financial Times reports.
Costa cited Russia's aggressive stance towards the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which are members of the EU and NATO, and its occupation of territory in countries along the EU's eastern flank as reasons why Brussels should be involved in the talks.
"Russia clearly poses a threat to the sovereignty of the Baltic states, to our eastern border," he said, adding: "It has a military presence in Moldova and Georgia."
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that if Europe wanted to play a role in the talks, it needed to be clear about what it was aiming for and what it could offer.
"I was a bit puzzled by the European reaction, which said: 'Oh, we need a seat at the table,'" he told the reporters in Munich. and added: “If you want a seat at the table, make sure you come up with the right proposals. Make sure you spend more [...] especially when it comes to Ukraine“.