Ukraine urges Europe to appoint envoy for peace talks
Ukraine urges Europe to appoint its own envoy for peace talks, Bloomberg reports. "It should be a quickly made decision," Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Chief of Staff for Ukraine's President, told Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Ihor Zhovkva stated that the European envoy should hold a leadership position to have the same status as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, or Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
informal summit on Ukraine
On Monday an informal meeting of European leaders focused on security and the situation in Ukraine will take place in Paris. The meeting was convened by France's President Emmanuel Macron.
The talks in Paris will also include the heads of government: Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom, Olaf Scholz of Germany, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Pedro Sanchez of Spain, Dick Schoof of the Netherlands, and Mette Frederiksen, representing the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
The meeting will also be attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa.
President Emmanuel Macron of France spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump before the informal meeting of European leaders in Paris concerning Ukraine, Reuters reported.
This meeting relates to the Munich Security Conference events, where U.S. officials indicated they do not see a role for Europe in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Will Europe not be able to rely on the USA?
Europeans are entering a time when they will not be able to rely on the USA - assessed the "New York Times" in its Monday piece. On Sunday, the Munich Security Conference concluded, which, according to the "NYT," showed that relations between Europe and the USA are in a deep crisis.
Vice President J. D. Vance, who represented the USA in Munich, emphasized in his speech that Europe cannot count on unwavering support from Washington. Additionally, the U.S. envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellog, present in Munich, stressed that the Trump administration does not want European leaders to participate directly in negotiations with Russia.
In light of discussions that the President of the United States has had with Putin, which took place without consulting U.S. allies, there is concern in European capitals about becoming a pawn in Washington's negotiations with Moscow to end the war of Russia against Ukraine.
