EU holds talks amid fear that Trump-Putin meeting will sideline Ukraine

The talks travel up of a landmark gathering betwixt the presidents of the US and Russia successful Alaska connected Friday.

European overseas ministers are holding exigency talks to sermon their adjacent steps earlier a meeting betwixt United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin successful Alaska connected Friday, arsenic Europe fears Ukraine volition beryllium excluded and forced into unacceptable territorial compromises to extremity the Russia-Ukraine war, present successful its 4th year.

In a pre-US-Russia acme propulsion aimed astatine consensus, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the NATO caput wide and respective European leaders to a virtual gathering connected Wednesday.

The European Union’s apical diplomats held a gathering by video nexus connected Monday with their Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

“The way to bid successful Ukraine cannot beryllium decided without Ukraine,” leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland, and EU Commission main Ursula von der Leyen said successful a associated connection up of the call.

Zelenskyy said connected Monday that concessions to Moscow would not transportation it to halt warring and that determination was a request to ramp up unit connected the Kremlin. “Concessions bash not transportation a killer,” helium said.

Zelenskyy insists helium volition ne'er consent to immoderate Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory nor springiness up his country’s bid for NATO membership. European leaders person besides underscored their committedness to the thought that planetary borders cannot beryllium changed by force.

The EU has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should beryllium portion of immoderate deal. The EU’s apical diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said “the US has the powerfulness to unit Russia to negociate seriously”, but “any woody betwixt the US and Russia indispensable person Ukraine and the EU included, for it is simply a substance of Ukraine’s and the full of Europe’s security.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk connected Monday said that the US had pledged to consult with Europe up of the summit. “I volition wait… for the effects of the gathering betwixt Presidents Trump and Putin – I person galore fears and a batch of hope,” helium said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer besides expressed enactment for Trump’s efforts to extremity the warfare with Ukraine, arsenic agelong arsenic the presumption for ending the warfare are not dictated.

“Any bid indispensable beryllium built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it, and we volition not reward aggression oregon compromise sovereignty. Ukraine volition determine its ain future, and we volition enactment it each measurement of the way,” helium said.

Trump announced past week that helium would meet Putin successful Alaska connected Friday to effort to resoluteness the ongoing conflict. The gathering volition beryllium the archetypal betwixt a sitting US and Russian president since 2021.

The US president is reportedly unfastened to inviting Zelenskyy to Alaska, but determination has been nary confirmation arsenic of yet. Putin has insisted the conditions indispensable beryllium close for him and the Ukrainian person to conscionable successful person.

Aerial assaults intensifying

In the meantime, aerial exchanges person intensified with diplomatic momentum to extremity the warfare successful play, with Ukraine claiming to person deed a installation that produces rocket components successful Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region.

Local authorities said 1 idiosyncratic was killed successful the onslaught and 2 were wounded. An authoritative told Reuters that astatine slightest 4 drones deed the Arzamas manufacturing works producing power systems and different components for Russian X-32 and X-101 missiles.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its aerial defence units destroyed a full of 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 implicit the Tula region, arsenic good arsenic implicit the Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed successful 2014.

The ministry besides said its forces had taken power of the colony of Lunacharske successful the Donetsk portion of eastbound Ukraine, which Ukraine renamed Fedorivka successful 2016.

Russia carried retired respective deadly attacks successful assorted Ukrainian locations implicit the weekend, including successful the fiercely contested areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies