Blitz Bureau
European allies have rallied behind Ukraine, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include Kyiv. Any diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis must protect the vital security interests of both Ukraine and Europe, European leaders said in a joint statement.
The joint statement was made by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” said the statement.
In the statement, released ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, the European leaders agreed that the vital interests include the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The European leaders stressed that “international borders must not be changed by force”.
“Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny,” they said, stressing that their nations would continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily and financially.
Concerned that Ukraine will not be invited to its own peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreements without Kyiv would amount to “dead decisions”.
However, a White House official said that President Trump would be willing to hold a trilateral meeting but for now, it remains just the two of them. Speaking on August 9, Trump also suggested that there “will be some swapping of territories” in order for Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement – to which Zelensky reacted strongly.
“We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated,” he said on Telegram. “Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace.” CBS has reported that the White House is trying to sway European allies to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and keeping the Crimean Peninsula.
According to Reuters, Starmer spoke to President Zelenskyy, a spokesperson for Downing Street said.
Starmer and Zelenskyy discussed Trump’s proposals for ending the war in Ukraine ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart in Alaska.
