11.8.2025
European leaders are pushing for Ukraine to be a part of negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Trump and Putin will meet in the US state of Alaska Friday to try to resolve the three-year war, but the European Union has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict.
The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swaths of territory, which the EU has rejected.
EU foreign ministers will discuss the talks in a meeting by video link on Monday, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put more pressure on Russia.
In a flurry of diplomacy, Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv’s main backers Germany, Britain and France.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he hoped and assumed that Zelensky would attend the leaders’ summit.
Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden – also said no decisions should be taken without Kyiv’s involvement.
Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement.
Asked on CNN on Sunday if Zelensky could be present, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker responded: “Yes, I certainly think it’s possible.”
“Certainly, there can’t be a deal that everybody that’s involved in it doesn’t agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it’s a high priority to get this war to end.”
Zelensky, Trump and Putin...