European allies, backed by renewed support, rally behind Ukraine, insisted that any peace negotiations with Russia must include Kiev.
As Donald Trump prepares to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“Without Ukraine, the road to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided,” a joint statement from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said.
Fearing that Ukraine would not be invited to participate in its own peace talks, Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreement without Kiev constituted a “dead decision.”
Later Saturday, a White House official said Trump was willing to hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky – but for now, as the Russian leader initially asked, that is still two of them.
Trump had previously suggested that he could first meet only Putin and told reporters that he planned to “start with Russia.” But the U.S. president also said he believed “we have a lens” to organize a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky.
Whether Putin agrees with this is unclear – Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not had a face-to-face full-scale invasion with Ukraine since three years ago.
In his speech on Friday, Trump also suggested that Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement that “there will be some territorial exchange” – a strong response from Zelensky.
“We will not reward Russia for its implementation,” he said in the telegram. “Any decision against us, no decision by Ukraine, is also a decision against peace.”
He rebelled, adding: “The Russians … still imposed the idea of ‘swapping’ Ukrainian territory into Ukrainian territory, with the consequences that make it more convenient for the Russians to resume their war stance.”
CBS, the BBC’s American media partner, reported that the White House is trying to support European allies to accept a deal that includes Russia’s occupation of the entire Donbass region in eastern Ukraine and retaining the Crimea Peninsula.
On the other hand, Ukraine and European powers have put forward their own blueprints for Trump and his top officials to end the war The Wall Street Journal reported. It includes any territory that requires that any territory can only be exchanged in mutual ways – so if Ukraine withdraws from certain regions, Russia must withdraw from others.
European leaders, In a statement released on Saturday nightemphasizing that “the international borders must not be changed through force.”
“Ukraine has the freedom to choose its own destiny.” He stressed that their country will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, military and economically.
The leaders also said that a “diplomatic solution” is crucial, not only to protect Ukraine, but also to Europe’s security.
It’s not just part of Ukraine’s efforts to attend the Alaska conference.
European allies are also worried that they lack influence over the outcome of any deal Trump and Putin.
In an article on Saturday X, French President Emmanuel Macron’s concerns about Russia and the United States do not include European participation.
“Europeans must also be part of the solution because their own security is at risk,” he wrote.
Europe has taken a tough approach to Moscow – including imposing sanctions on Russian entities and providing military assistance to Ukraine.
Zelensky said he told Macron on Saturday’s call that the key was to make sure that “the Russians no longer deceive anyone.”
“We all need to achieve a real end to war and a reliable security foundation for Ukraine and other European countries,” said Ukraine’s leader.
US diplomacy in Europe and Ukraine fell to Vice President JD Vance On Saturday, when visiting the UK and holding talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and two of Zelensky’s top aides.
Thanks to Vance’s discussion, Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky’s office, stressed the need to include Ukraine.
“Only Ukraine is possible at the negotiating table, a reliable, lasting peace is possible,” he said. “A ceasefire is necessary – but the frontline is not the border.”
The Alaska summit will be the first time since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021 on territory sold to the United States by Russia in 1867.
Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhiya and Helsen – although they do not have complete control over them.
Moscow failed to make a decisive breakthrough in a full-scale invasion, but occupied Blockbusters in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian perpetrators were unable to postpone Russian troops.
