Germany invites Trump, Zelenskyy, NATO, EU leaders to virtual meeting
Brussels: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday invited US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO’s chief and several European leaders to virtual meetings on Wednesday ahead of a US-Russia summit as Europe and Kyiv worry a deal could be made without them.
Neither Zelenskyy nor European leaders have been invited to Friday’s summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The German chancellery said in a statement that the virtual talks will focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” as well as “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.
The European Commission confirmed that President Ursula von der Leyen will take part “in the calls organised by Chancellor Merz” ahead of the summit.
The leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Italy and Poland are also set to join the “various discussion groups”, the chancellery in Berlin said.
Ukraine and its backers in Europe insist that Trump and Putin cannot decide on land swaps behind their backs at the summit, but the Europeans concede that Moscow is unlikely to give up control of Ukrainian land it holds.
Trump has suggested that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories,” but the Europeans see no sign that Russia will offer anything to exchange.
European Union foreign ministers met on Monday following talks on Ukraine among US and European security advisers over the weekend. They are concerned that Putin will try to claim a political victory by portraying Ukraine as inflexible.
Concerns have mounted in Europe and Ukraine that Kyiv may be pressed to give up land or accept other curbs on its sovereignty. Ukraine and its European allies reject the notion that Putin should lay claim to any territory even before agreeing to a ceasefire.
“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of the ministerial meeting.
“A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded,” Kallas said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said “it must be obvious to Poland and our European partners — and I hope to all of NATO — that state borders cannot be changed by force”. Any land swaps or peace terms “must be agreed upon with Ukraine’s participation,” he said, according to Polish news agency PAP.
Still, it’s hard to ignore the reality on the ground.
Russia in 2022 illegally annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, even though it doesn’t fully control them.
