European leaders push to secure seat for Ukraine at Trump-Putin talks
Date: 2025-08-11T07:57:56.000Z
Title: Morning opening: Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine
Content: A group of European leaders insisted over the weekend that 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine' amid growing concerns about the US president Donald Trump's plans to strike a deal with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, when the pair meets in Alaska on Friday.
A hastily arranged statement signed by the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK, and the European Union reiterated that 'a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests.'
Speaking to the German broadcaster ARD, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped and assumed that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would also be involved in Friday's summit in Alaska and that he made representations to Trump on this issue.
'We cannot accept in any case that territorial questions are discussed or even decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians,' he said. 'I assume that the American government sees it the same way.'
EU foreign ministers are meeting virtually for an emergency meeting today to discuss the next steps.
On Sunday, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the support, saying on X: 'The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations.
But there are still no guarantees as to what will happen next and what concessions Trump might be willing to agree to, leaving Kyiv and most European capitals deeply uncomfortable ahead of the summit on Friday, and they will want to use every minute to influence the US position.
Let's see what the day brings.
Elsewhere, I will be also keeping an eye on another extreme heatwave in parts of Europe, with Spain and France among countries expecting to see temperatures close to or above 40 degrees Celsius once again.
I will bring you all the key updates here.
It's Monday, 11 August 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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