European capitals have responded with shock and alarm at both the EU and Kyiv being cut out of the talks to end the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to begin immediate bilateral peace talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin has stoked the continent’s deepest fears over the terms of any deal — and would have to pay for postwar reconstruction and security.
Germany
Defence minister Boris Pistorius expressed regret that Washington had given concessions to Moscow before negotiations had begun with Kyiv.
“What the negotiation results will look like is still unclear. It is unfortunate . . . that Trump has already made public concessions to Putin before negotiations have even begun,” Pistorius said ahead of a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels. “It would have been better to talk about Ukraine’s possible Nato membership first at the negotiating table.”
He warned that it would be “naive” to believe that the threat from Moscow would abate after a peace accord.
His cabinet colleague, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, admitted that the Trump-Putin decision came “out of the blue”.
“The Americans are sending very different signals. That means we need to talk to the Americans and make it clear at this point that not only transatlantic security but also the standing of the US in the world is being decided on this crucial issue,” she said.
EU
The EU’s security commissioner Henna Virkkunen insisted Europe and Ukraine must be part of peace talks.
“It’s important that when we are entering into peace negotiations that Europe and Ukraine are playing a crucial and central role there,” she told the Financial Times. “For Europe, of course, the US is a very important ally when it comes to . . . security and defence. But now they have a new administration and we are engaging with them now.”
A spokesperson for the European Commission on Thursday warned that “Russia is the aggressor and it cannot be rewarded for its aggression”, highlighting that “any peace deal needs to be sustainable — a bad deal will only lead to more war”.
Nato
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said it was crucial “that Ukraine is closely involved in everything happening about Ukraine”.
“It is crucial that whatever comes out of those [peace] talks, it is durable, it is enduring,” he told reporters.
UK
Defence secretary John Healey echoed the demand that Kyiv must be at the centre of any negotiations.
Stressing that “Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine”, Healey said: “There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine — and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.”
He added: “It’s our job as defence ministers here at Nato to put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength.”
France
Defence minister Sébastien Lecornu said that “peace through weakness” was the wrong approach.
“Either we are within discussion parameters that really allow us to bring peace through strength, or, on the contrary, it will be peace through weakness,” he told reporters. “And peace through weakness, unfortunately, could lead us to dramatic security situations, or even to the long-term widening of the conflict,” Lecornu added.
Baltic states
“If the US and EU are not able to work together as a team for [a] democratic world, it’s going to be the darkest time since the second world war,” said Dovilė Šakalienė, Lithuania’s defence minister.
Her Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, warned that “this peace will not be long-lasting” unless Europe was involved in the talks, given the continent’s sanctions against Russia and current financial and military aid to Ukraine. Kyiv’s desire to become an EU member also meant “we should be there”, Pevkur added.
Poland
Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media that to achieve a “just peace” in the conflict “Ukraine, Europe and the US should work on this together. TOGETHER.”
The Netherlands
Defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said the EU had to be involved in peace talks.
“Durable peace is only possible with robust security guarantees. We need to shape these robust guarantees together, and in the meantime keep fully supporting Ukraine.”
On Wednesday he announced the donation of 25 armoured vehicles to evacuate wounded soldiers. The country has spent €6bn of a €10bn military aid package.
Spain
“It’s more important than ever that . . . Europeans have a common understanding of what’s going on,” foreign minister José Manuel Albares told the FT.
“It’s more than fair to say that nothing can be agreed about European security without Europe,” he added. “And we don’t think that anything should be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Italy
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani said it was “very important” that the US and Russia “return to talking at the highest level”, but said that Europe had to be involved in talks.
He said the overall aim must be “a just and lasting peace that does not erase the rationale of Ukraine, an agreement that is not a temporary truce but re-establishes the rules and sets conditions to prevent new wars or aggression”.
Reporting by Henry Foy, Barbara Moens, Andy Bounds and Paola Tamma in Brussels, Anne-Sylvaine Chassany and Laura Pitel in Berlin, Lucy Fisher in London, Amy Kazmin in Rome, Richard Milne in Oslo and Raphael Minder in Warsaw
