Ukraine could be a part of negotiations between the United States and Russia, a US official has said, as European leaders pushed for Ukraine’s inclusion ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year war, but the European Union has insisted that Ukraine and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict.
EU foreign ministers will discuss the talks in a meeting by video link today, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart.
Tánaiste Simon Harris, who is attending the virtual meeting, will tell the Foreign Affairs Council that this week represents a “pivotal moment” for the war in Ukraine.
He is expected to say that Ukraine must be involved in any talks that take place and that a ceasefire is more imperative now than ever.
He will say that Ireland will continue to show “unwavering support” to Ukrainian people who have suffered “unimaginable violence and hardship”.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could attend this week’s US-Russia summit in Alaska.
The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Mr Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Ukraine to cede swaths of territory, which the EU has rejected.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Mr Trump to put more pressure on Russia.
In a flurry of diplomacy, Mr Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Ukraine’s main backers Germany, Britain and France.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped and assumed that Mr Zelensky would attend the leaders’ summit.
Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden – also said no decisions should be taken without Ukraine’s involvement.
Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement.
Asked on CNN if Mr Zelensky could be present, Mr Whitaker responded that “yes, I certainly think it’s possible”.
“Certainly, there can’t be a deal that everybody that’s involved in it doesn’t agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it’s a high priority to get this war to end,” he added.
Mr Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Mr Trump’s to make, and there was no word yesterday from the White House.
‘Testing Putin’
Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine had to include Ukraine and the bloc.
“President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine,” Ms Kallas said in a statement yesterday.
“The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” she added.
“I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers today to discuss our next steps,” she said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will also take part in this afternoon’s meeting, the ministry said.
NATO chief Mark Rutte told ABC’s This Week broadcast that Mr Trump was “putting pressure on Putin”.
“Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,” he added.
Ukraine’s military said it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains.
The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20km west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region.
A ‘just peace’
As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Russia has demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO.
Ukraine said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.
The EU’s Ms Kallas backed Ukraine’s position.
“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” the EU foreign policy chief said.
NATO’s Mr Rutte said it was a reality that “Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory” and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this.
“When it comes to acknowledging, for example, maybe in a future deal, that Russia is controlling, de facto, factually, some of the territory of Ukraine. It has to be effectual recognition and not a political de jure recognition,” Mr Rutte told ABC.
Mr Zelensky thanked those countries backing Ukraine’s position in his evening address.
“The war must be ended as soon as possible with a fair peace,” he said. “A fair peace is needed.”
“Clear support for the fact that everything concerning Ukraine must be decided with Ukraine’s participation. Just as it should be with every other independent state,” he added.
