The sudden transatlantic chasm over Ukraine will be laid bare on Monday when US officials start preliminary talks in Riyadh with Russian counterparts over a ceasefire just as Emmanuel Macron hosts a Paris summit of European defence powers to demand the US ends the lockout of Europe and Kyiv from the process, reports The Guardian.
The US and Russia talks are ahead of a planned meeting this week between the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the first such meeting between the two countries in over two years. There are fears in Europe that Russia via the US talks will relaunch its plan for imposed Ukrainian neutrality and a joint US-Russia carve-up with agreed spheres of influence.
The Paris meeting will aim to outline a European action plan following days of chaotic briefing by the Trump administration. The Paris summit will also need to decide how to respond to a request by the US to spell out whether leaders are prepared to commit troops to a stabilisation force in the event of a ceasefire.
Keir Starmer will attend, as well as Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk. France is determined that the UK is closely involved in all future discussions on Ukraine.
Downing Street said it believed Starmer could play a central role in securing Ukraine’s future by conveying Europe’s warnings against a potential US-Russian carve-up of the country directly to Trump when the prime minister visits Washington DC next week. He will then report back to other European leaders. “It’s not a role we necessarily looked for, but it’s one the PM wants to step into,” a source said.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymy Zelenskyy, speaking in an interview from the Munich Security Conference said he was doubtful that Vladimir Putin was prepared to make concessions and repeated his claim Russia was planning an attack on Nato countries next year. Ukraine and many of its closest European allies believe Putin wants a recasting of the postwar order his precondition for a ceasefire.
Confirming the Paris meeting, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio on Sunday: “The president will bring together the main European countries tomorrow for discussions on European security.” He added there was a wind of unity blowing through.
European diplomatic sources said the Monday afternoon summit would also include Italy and Denmark – representing the Baltic and Scandinavian countries – as well as the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
It will discuss what defence capabilities Europe could provide to give Ukraine credible security guarantees, including a plan for Ukraine to be given automatic Nato membership in the event of a clear ceasefire breach by Russia. The US has said there must be devastating consequences for any side that breaches a ceasefire agreement, an element missing from previous Ukraine ceasefires since 2014.