European leaders stress need to protect Ukraine's interests ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

2025-08-10 12:51:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

European leaders stress need to protect Ukraine's interests ahead of

European leaders have welcomed US President Donald Trump's decision to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, but stressed the need to keep up pressure on Moscow and protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.

Trump will meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday to talk about reaching an agreement that could resolve the nearly four-year conflict.

Details of a possible deal have not been disclosed, but Trump said it would include "some territorial exchanges for the benefit of both sides."

The deal could require Ukraine to hand over large swaths of its land, which, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies, would only fuel Russian aggression.

NBC News, citing a senior US official and three others briefed on the matter, reported on Saturday evening that the White House was considering inviting Zelensky to the meeting in Alaska.

However, Reuters later quoted another White House official as saying that, while Trump would be open to a three-way meeting in Alaska, for now the plans are only for bilateral Trump-Putin talks, as the Russian leader has requested.

Putin has so far ruled out the possibility of a meeting with Zelensky, who has stated that he is ready for such direct talks.

US Vice President JD Vance met in London on Saturday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and representatives of Ukraine and European allies to discuss Trump's peace efforts.

In a joint statement on Saturday night, the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Britain, Finland and the president of the European Commission welcomed Trump's efforts, while emphasizing the need to maintain support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.

“We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect the vital security interests of Ukraine and Europe,” the statement said. “We agree that these vital interests include the need for strong and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” they stressed, adding: “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be established without Ukraine.”

The leaders declared that they "remain committed to the principle that international borders should not be changed by force."

They stressed that negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction in hostilities.

Zelensky said on Sunday that Kiev "appreciates and fully supports" the joint statement of European leaders on achieving peace in Ukraine, protecting Ukrainian and European interests.

Ukraine and the EU have opposed proposals they see as excessive concessions to Putin, who sent Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia justifies the war on the grounds of what it calls a threat to its security from Ukraine's orientation towards the West.

Kiev and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperialist-style land grab.

Moscow claims four Ukrainian regions as its own: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson - as well as the Black Sea peninsula, Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. / Rel