European leaders are eager to ensure that they and Ukraine are included in the next peace negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The worry is that the two leaders could make decisions about Ukraine’s military and political future (and by extension, Europe’s) without getting input from the people who would be most affected.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent the weekend talking on the phone with more than a dozen world leaders, including the heads of France and Germany and the International Monetary Fund, when allegations came out that Ukraine might not have a seat at the table.
Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Friday, according to BBC News. This will be their first face-to-face meeting since Trump took office for a second time and the first time any G7 leader has met with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told ARD, Germany’s state broadcaster, on Sunday that we can’t let Russia and the US talk about or even decide on territorial issues without the Europeans and Ukrainians being involved. European leaders said in a united statement that Ukraine must be included in deciding the way to peace in Ukraine.
NBC News indicated that the White House is thinking about inviting Zelenskyy to the meeting, but his office said on Monday that no final decision has been made. Last week, Trump hinted at possible terms, indicating that both sides would benefit from some territory changes. Hours later, Zelenskyy rejected the offer, stating that Ukrainians would not cede their territory to the occupier.
Moscow’s demands are still too high, asking Ukraine to give up all of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, not simply the parts that are currently occupied, which make up about 20% of Ukraine’s land. Kyiv has always said no, but many people in Ukraine’s camp are worried that Trump’s desire to make a deal could lead to concessions without the security guarantees needed to stop Russian aggression in the future.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army officer, said that the worry is that Trump wants to make a deal, but it will be a disastrous one for Ukraine. It looks like the mafia and the real estate developer made a deal. But the people who should be involved, the true stakeholders, aren’t.
David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary, hosted his European peers at his Chevening home over the weekend. The Guardian says that his main guest was U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who came to visit while on vacation. Lammy and Vance got along well even though they had different political views. They both grew up in working-class families and liked to fish. Vance was unequivocal about his attitude, saying to Fox News, “We’re done with the funding of the Ukraine war business…” We’re fine with the Europeans buying weapons from American companies if they want to.
Ukraine and Russia continue to have rather distinct objectives. Critics claim that Moscow wants more land, a weaker Ukrainian military, and a promise that Kyiv will never join NATO. These requirements would make Ukraine a de facto Russian satellite. Ukraine’s goal is simpler but just as important: to stay a free country and stop the war that has killed so many people and wasted so many resources for almost three years.