CNN
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Swaying from the shock that was delivered by the Trump administration last week, European leaders were in Saudi Arabia to end the war in Ukraine without European or Ukraine involvement for US and Russian officials to meet in Saudi Arabia As we were preparing to meet, we held an emergency consultation in Paris.
Besides a brief call between French President Emmanuel Macron and his US President Donald Trump, European leaders were sidelined at the start of a pivotal week for the safety of the continent.
Instead, the focus will be on US-Russia consultations in Riyadh. There, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat on Tuesday along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “The Great Power.” These talks can base a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Faced with a declining outlook for the US footprint in Europe, the European leadership conference focused on the potential deployment of European troops into Ukraine and the willingness of European allies to strengthen defence spending.
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, who called Paris, called the “generational generation” moment of national security on the continent, said that he would later say, “If there is peace, commit the British troops to the ground along with others.” He said he is ready to consider the agreement.
Other European leaders also suggested stepping up in a variety of ways.
NATO’s Secretary Mark Latte said that Paris consultations are strategy in the best way to support the peace process, including many debates that European leaders want to “put the military into peace agreements in Ukraine.” He said it was an opportunity to set up. Rutte said, “It is very important that the US wants to provide backup, that is to provide military forces on the ground, so it is very important that such efforts be possible.” He added.
“That means Europeans (willing to be actively involved), and they hope to support peace cooperation in Ukraine, including the military when necessary, but clearly including American backup. It’s completely in place and that Putin will never try again,” Latte said.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky spoke with Macron after the Paris Summit, repeating Ukraine’s “robust and reliable” security assurance calls, he said in a post in X.
During the three-year war in Ukraine, Europe and the United States remained remarkably integrated in their stance towards Russia. But in just three weeks since Trump’s second presidency, much of that unity has been revealed.
The Trump administration took a series of blows to Europe and Ukraine last week. First, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said Ukraine’s NATO membership was not a realistic outcome of the negotiated settlement, and European security is no longer a priority for the US.
Trump then made a long call with Putin, effectively ending the Western policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” Vice President JD Vance then turned on European leaders in a furious speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, denounced them for allegedly cracking down on free speech.
“The threat I most worry about Europe is not Russia,” Vance told a stone audience. “What I’m worried about is the threat from within.”
Nigel Gould Davis, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the gusts of a statement from the Trump administration have plunged Europe into “unknown territory.”
In making concessions to the Kremlin before negotiations begin, Gould Davis said the Trump administration was showing an “excessive rush” that could create an opening for Putin.
“If you’re negotiating and you want to accomplish this as quickly as possible. It puts you in a weaker position. There’s a lot that Putin will misuse,” he says. He spoke to.
Zelensky said that despite Ukraine being in the country for separate meetings, he would not take part in US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia. He said that “about Ukraine about Ukraine without Ukraine” would not bear fruit, and that Kiev would reject negotiated deals without Kiev’s involvement.
However, Zelensky showed his openness to sign a deal that grants US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals if Washington provided security assurances to Kiev in return.
“The question is not what Ukraine can give, but what can Ukraine get?” Zelensky said Monday.
After rejecting the Trump administration’s first approach over the weekend, Zelensky said he would welcome “a more detailed plan.”
Zelensky also confirmed that Trump’s Russian Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due to visit Ukraine on Thursday. Zelensky said he hopes to bring Kellogg to meet soldiers on the front line “so that they can see it on their level.”
However, much of the Trump administration’s diplomacy takes place in the Middle East, where Rubio will be joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The Kremlin said Lavrov will be joined by Presidential Advisor Yury Ushakov.
Rubio framed the talks in an attempt to determine whether Russia was serious about ending the war in Ukraine. However, Lavrov signaled a higher goal, saying that Trump and Putin “agree with the need to leave an absolutely extraordinary period in the relationship between two great powers.”
Asked by CNN if Russia was willing to compromise, Lavrov suggested taking a hard-line approach to negotiations.
Gould Davis, former British ambassador to Belarus, said that Europe has a limited impact on the negotiated settlement, but that it is a “concern” that it must live with the outcome.
“Only Americans are negotiating with Russia, but Americans also say that Europe is the only place that Americans have to enforce, guarantee and pay agreements that are made above their heads. ” he said.
“To say this is the most serious crisis the Trans-Atlantic Alliance has faced is not an exaggeration,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Latte told CNN that the US intends to ensure that Ukraine will take part in future negotiations.
“It’s about Ukraine. Latte said following consultations with leaders of France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European Union.
When asked about the possibility of a peace agreement being smashed without consulting Ukraine and NATO, Latte said, “NATO, or Europe, needs to be relevant to sitting at that table if they wish.” And I think Europeans are stepping up now. ”
Latte also said it was right to say that the Trump administration needs to spend more on defense, and to fill the “huge gap” in capabilities it would have to be “3% north” of GDP. He added that he thinks it should be. “They were right. We have to spend more, and we spend more.”
