KYIV — The European Union should not be sidelined from the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations brokered by the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday.
“The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe — we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,” Zelenskyy said after a phone conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
U.S. President Donald Trump informed Zelenskyy and European leaders earlier this week that he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and later hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was not on the call with Trump, a spokesperson for the Commission said on Thursday. But she was “extensively debriefed by several EU leaders,” the spokesperson told reporters.
The Kremlin confirmed on Thursday that the two leaders plan to meet “in the coming days.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that, following Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, the U.S. government has a better understanding of the conditions under which Moscow would be prepared to end the war.
“We now have to compare that to what the Ukrainians and our European allies, but the Ukrainians primarily, of course, are willing to accept — and what you try to see is how far can you get these two positions closer,” Rubio told Fox Business.
“If we can get what the Ukrainians will accept and what the Russians will accept close enough, then I think there’s the opportunity for the president to have a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelenskyy to try to close this thing out,” Rubio said.
The diplomatic push comes after Trump upped the pressure on Putin by imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on India for buying Russian oil.
Ukraine expects Trump will also impose new sweeping sanctions on Friday, yet Putin might have offered Trump a limited truce to once again postpone such a move.
“Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address Wednesday. “The pressure is working,” he added.
But, Zelenskyy cautioned, “the key is to ensure they don’t deceive anyone in the details — neither us nor the United States.”
Zelenskyy wants to coordinate positions with European partners before the high-level meetings.
“Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side,” Zelenskyy said. “It is time we ended the war. Thank you to everyone who is helping.”
The post Zelenskyy says Europe must be part of Russia-Ukraine peace talks appeared first on Politico.
