The French President Emmanuel Macron (C) collapses after a meeting in Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on December 7, 2024 with the elected US President Donald Trump (R) and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L).
Julien de Pink | AFP | Getty pictures
Europe competes for a say in the rapidly produced Russia-Ukraine peace talks after the United States has tightened the fears over the weekend that Brussels would lack the highest level at the highest level.
European leaders will be gathered for an emergency summit in Paris on Monday, which was hastily gathered by French President Emmanuel Macron after hopes for the participation of Europe at the Munich Security Conference.
Washington and Moscow will launch discussions to end an end to the almost three-year Russia Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia, as US President Donald Trump's top diplomat Marco Rubio will sit down with Russia's Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Monday that according to Reuters, he will travel to Riad on Wednesday, while he found that Ukraine would not take part in the first talks between the United States and Russia. He added that another direct meeting with Trump would probably follow.
“Ukraine will not participate. Ukraine knew nothing about it,” he said reporters during a video briefing from the United Arab Emirates, where he was a state visit. “Ukraine looks at all negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine as such that have no result.”
After Trump said on Sunday, Zelenskyy would be involved in peace talks with Russia and in the past few days there is contradicting comments by US officials.
However, the EU and the United Kingdom are probably not a physical place at the negotiating table – either at the beginning or in the run -up to the discussions, said the US special Presidential Officer for Ukraine and Russia Kellogg on Saturday.
“What we do not want to do is a big group discussion,” he said to a Fringe event in Munich and found that the interests of the Allies would be “taken into account” instead.
Russia's Lavrov put the confusion on Monday and said: “I don't know what European countries should do in talks about Ukraine.”
Instead, the United States has asked the European allies to fill out a questionnaire in which, according to Reuters, many troops and skills could use them in Ukraine as security guarantees. Further questions are, which guarantees security that Europe would see as a “sufficient deterrent for Russia, and at the same time ensure that this conflict ends with a permanent peace regulation”.
The head of foreign policy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, said on Saturday that a permanent peace agreement without participation in Europe would not be possible.
“In order for everything to work, it must have Ukrainians and Europeans as part of it, because the Ukrainians and Europeans also have to implement the deal here in Europe. Without us, every deal would not simply work” CNBC Silvia Amaro on the edge of the MSC.
The President of the European Commission, the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Commission, warned on Friday that the failure to secure “just and permanent peace” for Ukraine would not only weaken Europe, but also the united States would weaken “.
European 'electric shock'
Nevertheless, some have criticized the negotiations against the exclusion of Europe, with Lithuania's former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the block should have formulated its own peace strategy.
“I understand the frustration that Europe is not at the table, but the reason why not is that Europe has very little to offer the table,” he told CNBC on Saturday. “If we were now ready to offer troops, money and integration into the EU, we could have our own table. We could invite the Ukrainians and Putin and Trump to talk about peace, such as Europe and Ukraine understand it.”
The summit on Monday in Paris consists of representatives of seven European nations, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk. British Prime Minister Keir Starrer is also present, and the British leader said he hoped that he would act as a channel between Brussels and Washington if he should meet Trump next week.
On Sunday in the Telegraph, Starrer said, said that he was ready to protect British “boots” in Ukraine to protect European security and to convince Trump from the role of Europe when ensuring peace for Kyiv.
“The US wishes for peace correspond exactly to what we want,” said Paris on Monday in Paris and added that the continent had to increase its defense spending – a long -term criticism of President Trump.
Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, confirmed on Saturday that the military alliance would try to increase the goals of defense spending if members meet for a summit in June. Although he did not deliver a specific figure, he later said Paul McLeary from Politico that the number could be “considerably more than 3%”.
Europe is facing a new reality of a less oriented, both in terms of defense and other common interests. The leaders were stunned on Friday after the US Vice President JD Vance had used his speech at the Munich Security Conference to start an attack on European democracy and provoke strong refusal from the region.
The French economy and finance minister Eric Lombard told CNBC on Monday that Trump's election and Vances had served as a “electric shock” for Europe.
“Europe now has to put together its action to answer,” said Lombard to Charlotte Reed and added that he was “completely confident” that Europe could encounter this “historical challenge”.
The Germany's Scholz also violently defended the democratic values of Europe on Saturday and pointed out the risk of “radical anti -democrats” on the basics of Germany and Europe.
Nevertheless, some EU executives have made concerns about a lack of equality in the entire block, which is illustrated by their exclusion from Macron's Ukraine summit. The Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar said on Monday that the cherry packaging of the participants sent the “wrong message” about European unity about Ukraine and other topics at a particularly crucial time.
“At the symbolic level, the conveners of the Paris Summit of the world prove that even in European countries,” she wrote, according to Google Translate. “This is not a Europe that is respected in the world. This is not a Europe that is considered as a partner for a North American ally.”
– Sophie Kiderlin from CNBC contributed to this report.
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