Putin and Trump are to meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15 to try to bring an end to the three-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated a peace deal without his country’s input would not be possible.
What did European leaders say about Ukraine’s involvement in a peace deal?
Europe has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict, with EU foreign ministers set to discuss the next steps for the bloc in a meeting by video link on Monday, together with their Ukrainian counterpart.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” the leaders from Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement.
The statement was followed by the heads of eight Nordic-Baltic nations, who also jointly reaffirmed their support for Ukraine.
The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden said they “Reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”
“President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” Kallas said.
Adding to the calls for Trump to exert his diplomatic powers, NATO head Mark Rutte told ABC’s This Week broadcast that “Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end.”
However, unlike many European leaders, Rutte said it was a reality that “Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory” and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/eu-nato-chiefs-back-ukraine-ahead-of-trump-putin-summit/a-73593501
