3 weeks ago
9
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they volition articulation President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful Washington for talks with President Donald Trump astir ending Russia's warfare successful Ukraine. They are rallying astir the Ukrainian person aft his exclusion from Trump's acme with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The singular amusement of solidarity — with leaders from France, Britain and Germany saying they would beryllium astatine Zelenskyy's broadside astatine the White House connected Monday — was an evident effort to guarantee the gathering goes amended than the past 1 successful February, erstwhile Trump berated Zelenskyy successful a heated Oval Office encounter.
“The Europeans are precise acrophobic of the Oval Office country being repeated and truthful they privation to enactment Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt,” said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a erstwhile caput of France’s subject ngo astatine the United Nations.
“It's a powerfulness conflict and a presumption of spot that mightiness enactment with Trump," helium said.
The European leaders’ carnal beingness to show their enactment for Ukraine could perchance assistance easiness concerns successful Kyiv and successful different European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a bid woody that Trump says helium wants to broker with Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced connected X that she volition instrumentality portion successful the talks, “at the request” of Zelenskyy. The secretary-general of the NATO subject alliance, Mark Rutte, volition besides instrumentality portion successful the meeting, his property work said.
The bureau of President Emmanuel Macron said the French person volition question “at the broadside of President Zelenskyy” and that he, too, would sojourn the White House. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer volition besides instrumentality portion successful the gathering with Trump, according to a connection from 10 Downing Street.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz volition besides beryllium portion of the European group. Writing connected X, helium said helium would sermon information guarantees, territorial issues, and further enactment for Ukraine.
The grouped travel underscored European leaders' determination to guarantee that Europe has a dependable successful Trump's attempted peace-making, aft the U.S. president's acme connected Friday with Putin — to which Zelenskyy wasn't invited.
Neil Melvin, manager of planetary information astatine the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to “shape this fast-evolving agenda.” After the Alaska summit, the thought of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the communicative shifting towards Putin’s docket of ensuring Ukraine does not articulation NATO oregon adjacent the EU.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said connected NBC’s “Meet the Press” connected Sunday that a imaginable ceasefire is “not disconnected the table” but that the champion mode to extremity the warfare would beryllium done a “full bid deal.”
Putin has implied that helium sees Europe arsenic a hindrance to negotiations. He has besides resisted gathering Zelenskyy successful person, saying that specified a gathering tin lone instrumentality spot erstwhile the groundwork for a bid woody has been laid.
Speaking to the property aft his gathering with Trump, the Russian person raised the thought that Kyiv and different European capitals could “create obstacles” to derail imaginable advancement with “behind-the-scenes intrigue.”
For now, Zelenskyy offers the Europeans the “only way” to get into the discussions astir the aboriginal of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI's Melvin.
However, the sheer fig of European leaders perchance successful attendance means the radical volition person to beryllium “mindful” not to springiness “contradictory” messages, Melvin said.
“The hazard is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up connected Trump,” helium added. “Trump won’t privation to beryllium enactment successful a corner.”
— Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France. Associated Press writers Pan Pylas successful London, and Katie Marie Davies successful Manchester, England, contributed to this report.
