UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – European leaders hold follow-up talks after US President Trump meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and EU heads to coordinate Ukraine security measures.
As reported by The Guardian, following their White House meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders hold new talks amid doubt over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans.
British PM Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will co-chair the first online meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ before a video call with European Council president António Costa.
How are leaders pushing for a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting?
After their White House visit with Zelenskyy, EU leaders push Trump to take a tougher line on Putin.
During the 18 August Washington meeting, Trump and European leaders confirmed direct talks with Zelenskyy in the coming weeks to try ending the war in Ukraine.
Macron suggested Geneva as the venue for the meeting, while a US official said Hungary is also under consideration. Russia has not confirmed when the meeting, the first between the two leaders since the invasion, will take place.
Yuri Ushakov’s views on Putin-Trump Ukraine talks
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Mr Putin and Mr Trump focused on ‘raising the level of representatives’ in Ukraine talks.
He did not clarify what “raising the level of representatives” would mean and made no mention of a possible trilateral meeting.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said talks with Ukraine’s president need to be prepared “very thoroughly.”
He added,
“We reaffirm our categorical opposition to any scenarios involving the stationing of a Nato contingent in Ukraine.”
Zelensky’s stance on security guarantees for Ukraine
The question of Ukraine’s security guarantees was central to the EU meeting on Tuesday. Zelenskyy described these guarantees as crucial and welcomed Trump’s commitment to participate.
He indicated the guarantees would be formalised within a week to 10 days, though delays from the Trump administration could slow the process.
In a statement, the Ukrainian president stated,
“This issue lies at the heart of the war’s humanitarian tragedy – our children, broken families, the pain of separation. At least 20,000 children were taken.”
He said,
“We are working tirelessly to bring every child home. The same applies to our prisoners of war and civilians held in Russia for years, some since 2014, in very bad conditions. Thousands of people still need to be freed – and this is a part of making peace.”
Mr Zelensky stated,
“We will work to negotiate an all-for-all prisoners of war exchange, and we are grateful to have strong friends who help.”
The Ukrainian president called the talks “really good,” adding,
“We are very happy with the president that all the leaders are here and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts.”
Mr Zelenskyy warned Ukraine will oppose any deal limiting its armed forces, insisting a strong army must be part of its security guarantees.
Trump’s views on security assurances for Ukraine
Mr Trump, in a late Monday post, said the White House talks covered plans for European countries to provide security assurances to Ukraine, with the US acting as coordinator.
He called the meeting “very good” on his Truth Social platform, adding,
“During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with coordination with the United States of America.”
Mr Trump said,
“Everyone is happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called president Putin and began arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky.”
He added,
“After the meeting takes place, we will have a trilat which would be the two presidents plus myself. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory taking into consideration the current line of contact.”
What did Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni say about Ukraine’s security?
After Ukraine talks at the White House, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Ukraine would not join NATO, but western allies would pledge a
“collective security clause that would allow Ukraine to benefit from the support of all its partners, including the United States, ready to take action if it is attacked again.”
What did Gérard Araud say about recent Ukraine diplomacy?
Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to the US, said,
“Nothing had happened in Anchorage on Aug. 15th. Nothing happened yesterday in Washington, DC.”
He added,
“Putin, Zelenskyy and the European leaders were all relieved: they had avoided Trump taking unwelcome decisions. It was the triumph of empty vagueness and meaningless commitments.”
Sir Keir’s views on the outcomes of the Ukraine talks
Sir Keir Starmer described the meeting as “good and constructive,” adding,
“There was a real sense of unity between the European leaders that were there, and President Trump and President Zelensky.”
He said,
“That’s really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK. The other material outcome was the agreement that there will now be a bilateral agreement between President Putin and President Zelensky, that was after a phone call between President Trump and President Putin during the course of this afternoon, followed by a trilateral which will then add President Trump.”
Mr Starmer added,
“That is a recognition of the principle that on some of these issues, whether it’s territory or the exchange of prisoners, or the very serious issue of the return of children, that is something where Ukraine must be at the table.”
He told Mr Trump,
“Your indication of security guarantees, of some sort of Article Five-style guarantees, fits with what we’ve been doing with the coalition of the willing which we started some months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security.”
The Labour leader added,
“With you coming alongside, the US alongside, what we’ve already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today – a historic step could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine and security in Europe.”