Trump shifts Ukraine strategy, seeks full peace deal after Putin talks
Before the high-stakes meeting in Alaska, securing an immediate cessation of hostilities had
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NZ Herald
23 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Zelensky returning to Oval Office after tense Trump exchange
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will return to the Oval Office on Tuesday (NZ time) for the first time since a spectacularly tense exchange with Donald Trump resulted in their talks being cut short and raised questions over future US support. At the February 28 meeting, Trump and
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
European leaders to back Ukraine in Trump talks
European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said today, seeking to shore up Zelenskyy's position as the US president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump is leaning on Zelenskyy to strike an agreement after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Trump and Zelenskyy will meet tomorrow. It is expected that they will have a bilateral meeting prior to the European leaders joining a larger conversation, according to a person briefed on the conversation. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on scheduling details. "If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands ... we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS' Face the Nation . Trump discussed Ukraine in several social media posts today. In one, he promised "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA" in a social media post without specifying what this might be. In another, he said Zelenskyy could end the war "almost immediately, if he wants to" and seemed to indicate that reclaiming Crimea and joining NATO are off the table for Ukraine. In a post on his Truth Social social media, Trump said: "Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" Sources briefed on Moscow's thinking told Reuters the US and Russian leaders have discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna, said Russia agreed that any peace agreement on Ukraine must provide security guarantees to Kyiv. "Many leaders of #EU states emphasize that a future peace agreement should provide reliable security assurances or guarantees for Ukraine," Ulyanov said on social media platform X. "Russia agrees with that. But it has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees." Top Trump officials hinted that the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region - which is already mostly under Russian control - was on the line, while some sort of defensive pact was also on the table. "We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection," Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN's State of the Union today, suggesting this would be in lieu of Ukraine seeking NATO membership. He said it was "the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that". Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defense, in which an attack on any member is considered an attack on all. That pledge may not be enough to sway Kyiv to sign over Donbas. Ukraine's borders were already meant to be guaranteed when Ukraine surrendered a nuclear arsenal in 1994, which proved to be little deterrent when Russia absorbed Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The war has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting of allies today to bolster Zelenskyy's hand, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role. The Europeans are eager to help Zelenskyy avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February when Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has played rounds of golf with Trump this year, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an admirer of many Trump policies. EUROPEAN SHOW OF UNITY European leaders at the today meeting projected unity, welcoming US talk of a security guarantee but stressing no discussions over territory could take place without Kyiv's involvement and clear arrangements to safeguard the rest of Ukraine's land. Some called for an immediate ceasefire, which Trump originally said he was trying to secure during his summit with Putin. Trump later changed course and agreed with the Russians that peace negotiations could come without a ceasefire, an idea dismissed by some of Ukraine's European allies. "You cannot negotiate peace under falling bombs," Poland's foreign ministry said in a statement. A joint communique released by Britain, France and Germany after the meeting said their leaders were ready "to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces". Some European countries, led by Britain and France, have been working since last year on such a plan, but others in the region remain reluctant to become involved militarily. Zelenskyy said on X there had been "clear support for Ukraine's independence and sovereignty" at the meeting. "Everyone agrees that borders must not be changed by force." He said any prospective security guarantees "must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe's participation". Rubio said both Russia and Ukraine would need to make concessions to reach a peace deal and security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed on Monday. He also said there must be additional consequences for Russia if no deal was reached. "I'm not saying we're on the verge of a peace deal, but I am saying that we saw movement, enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelenskyy and the Europeans, enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this," Rubio told broadcaster CBS. Putin briefed his close ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, about the Alaska talks, and also spoke with Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Trump said on Friday Ukraine should make a deal to end the war because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not." After the Alaska summit, Trump phoned Zelenskyy and told him the Kremlin chief had offered to freeze most front lines if Ukraine ceded all of Donetsk, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskyy rejected the demand.
1News
2 hours ago
- 1News
European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelensky for meeting with Trump
European and NATO leaders announced overnight they will join President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington to present a united front in talks with US President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine and firming up US security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland are rallying around the Ukrainian president after his exclusion from Trump's summit on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelensky's side at the White House is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelensky in a heated Oval Office encounter. "The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt," said retired French General Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. "It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump," he said. President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. At left is Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and second from right is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Putin agreed at his summit in Alaska with Trump that the US and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3-and-a-half-year war, special US envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview Sunday on CNN's State of the Union. It "was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that," said Witkoff, who called it "game-changing". White House envoy Steve Witkoff arrives before a news conference with President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (Source: Associated Press) Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said the European delegation will ask Trump to back plans they drafted to beef-up Ukraine's armed forces — already Europe's largest outside of Russia — with more training and equipment to secure any peace. "We need a credible format for the Ukrainian army, that's the first point, and say — we Europeans and Americans — how we'll train them, equip them, and finance this effort in the long-term," the French leader said. The European-drafted plans also envision an allied force in Ukraine away from the front lines to reassure Kyiv that peace will hold and to dissuade another Russian invasion, Macron said. He spoke after a nearly two-hour video call Sunday with nations in Europe and further afield — including Canada, Australia and Japan — that are involved in the so-called "coalition of the willing". The "several thousand men on the ground in Ukraine in the zone of peace" would signal that "our fates are linked," Macron said. ADVERTISEMENT A Russian soldier fires during a practice at a training ground on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Source: Associated Press) "This is what we must discuss with the Americans: Who is ready to do what?" Macron said. "Otherwise, I think the Ukrainians simply cannot accept commitments that are theoretical." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier at a news conference in Brussels with Zelensky that "we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the 'coalition of the willing' -- including the European Union -- is ready to do its share." The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including our first ever espionage trial, the end of an era for Cook Strait crossings, and a surprising survival story. (Source: 1News) Macron said the substance of security guarantees will be more important than whether they are given an Article 5-type label. "A theoretical article isn't enough, the question is one of substance," he said. "We must start out by saying that the first of the security guarantees for Ukraine is a strong Ukrainian army." Along with Von der Leyen and Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also said they'll will take part in Monday's talks, as will secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte. ADVERTISEMENT President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews. (Source: Associated Press) The European leaders' support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to "shape this fast-evolving agenda". After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is "not off the table" but that the best way to end the war would be through a "full peace deal". Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelensky in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a working meeting to discuss the results of the Russia-US summit in Alaska at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Source: Associated Press) Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could "create obstacles" to derail potential progress with "behind-the-scenes intrigue". ADVERTISEMENT For now, Zelensky offers the Europeans the "only way" to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI's Melvin. However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be "mindful" not to give "contradictory" messages, Melvin said. "The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump," he added. "Trump won't want to be put in a corner." Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the US and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all. Zelensky continues to stress the importance of both US and European involvement in any negotiations. "A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States," he said at the press conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen. Zelensky also pushed back against Trump's assertion — which aligned with Putin's preference — that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war, rather than first securing a ceasefire. Zelensky said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin's demands. ADVERTISEMENT "It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons," he said. "Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it."
