A new push for peace talks between the U.S. and Russia has prompted a strong unified response from European allies, who insist that Ukraine must be at the table.
Leaders from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, and the European Commission issued a joint statement affirming that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” Their declaration followed an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss an end to the war.
Concerned that he might be excluded from the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned that any agreements made without Kyiv would be “dead decisions.” A White House official later said President Trump would be open to a trilateral meeting with both leaders, though the initial meeting remains a bilateral one between Trump and Putin.
Whether Putin would agree to this is unclear – he has refused several opportunities to hold direct talks, and the two leaders have not met face-to-face since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
Deal would include Russia taking over eastern parts of Ukraine
The prospect of a peace agreement has also sparked disagreement over territorial concessions. In a statement on Friday, Trump suggested there could be “some swapping of territories.”
CBS News, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reports that the White House is trying to sway European leaders to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea. It would give up the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it partially occupies, as part of the proposed agreement.
President Zelensky reacted defiantly, stating that Ukraine “will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated” and that any such deals would only set the stage for future conflict. His stance was echoed by European leaders, who, in their joint statement, stressed that “international borders must not be changed by force.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a post on X, voiced Europe’s concern over being sidelined, emphasizing that “Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake.”
Europe has taken a tough approach to Moscow – including imposing sanctions against Russian entities and providing military aid for Ukraine.
