Europe stresses need to protect Ukrainian interests ahead of Trump-Putin talks
Volodymyr Zelenskiy
said on Sunday that Kyiv 'values and fully supports' a joint statement by European leaders on achieving peace in Ukraine while protecting Ukrainian and European interests.
European leaders on Saturday welcomed US president
Donald Trump
's plans to meet Russian president
Vladimir Putin
on ending the war in Ukraine, while stressing the need to keep pressure on Moscow and protect Ukrainian and European security interests.
'We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests,' they said.
'We agree that these vital interests include the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the statement said, adding: 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.'
READ MORE
The leaders said 'they remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force', and added: 'The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.'
They said negotiations could only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
On X, Mr Zelenskiy wrote that '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.'
'Ukraine values and fully supports the statement by President Macron, Prime Minister Meloni, Chancellor Merz, Prime Minister Tusk, Prime Minister Starmer, President Ursula von der Leyen, and President Stubb on peace for Ukraine.'
Mr Trump plans to meet Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday. He has talked up the prospect of a deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.
Mr Zelenskiy and his European allies have warned that any deal requiring Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory would only encourage Russian aggression. – Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Germany divided over plan to limit weapons for Israel
Chancellor Friedrich Merz was supposed to be on his summer holiday but on Sunday afternoon he was in a Munich television studio in full damage-limitation mode. In a hastily-arranged interview, Merz insisted his decision on Friday to halt German arms deliveries to Israel did not mark a major policy shift. 'We have a dissent with the Israeli government involving Israel's approach to the Gaza Strip ,' said Merz on ARD public television explaining Friday's decision, 'but we continue to stand, without any doubt, at the side of this country'. Merz said he and his officials had been grappling for weeks with how best to stand by Israel while responding to its effective aid blockade and the growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. READ MORE The Israeli decision to expand its war in Gaza, Merz said, came as a 'surprise' and forced him to act. 'We cannot supply weapons in a conflict that is now being fought exclusively to be resolved by military means and which could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian victims,' he said. For the 69-year-old, Sunday's 11-minute interview was a belated attempt to escape from a very German post-October 7th trap. For nearly two years many politicians such as Merz and his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have conflated the state of Israel and the Netanyahu government's Gaza strategy – denouncing critics of the latter as enemies of the former. For Merz and his allies, this strategy went beyond defending Israel's right to self-defence: it was about defending Germany 's six decades of post-Holocaust bilateral relations. [ Israel has 'no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas', says Netanyahu Opens in new window ] As a frame for this narrative they used a 2007 remark by ex-chancellor Angela Merkel, in a speech about Iran's nuclear programme, that Israel's security was part of German 'Staatsräson', or 'reason of state'. After months denouncing those who questioned the Netanyahu government's Gaza strategy, Sunday's interview saw Merz hoist by his own petard. The CDU leader said he was anxious to 'prevent misunderstandings' about what halting arms deliveries means – and doesn't mean. But his interview came 48 hours too late – and after an unprecedented weekend assault. His right-wing Bavarian coalition sister party, the Christian Social Union, insisted it 'wasn't involved in' and 'wouldn't support' this 'questionable decision'. That was mild compared with the response of the Israel-friendly Springer media group, whose journalists sign up to an ethos that includes 'supporting the right of Israel to exist'. Since October 7th, 2023, Springer's Bild tabloid has consistently described Israel critics as 'Jew haters' and, on Saturday, accused the chancellor on its front-page of 'caving'. On Sunday it argued Merz had 'torn down overnight a decades-old CDU [political] pillar without telling anyone, then gone back to his holiday'. In Sunday's interview, Merz insisted his shift was motivated by strategic and humanitarian concerns and not popular opinion. Yet three recent opinion polls tell their own story. Just 36 per cent of Germans say they hold a positive view of Israel, according to a Bertelsmann Foundation survey, down 10 points from the same survey in 2021. Meanwhile a second poll for Stern magazine last week suggested three-quarters of Germans want a tougher German stance towards Israel over Gaza. Meanwhile a third survey released on Sunday indicated 54 per cent of Germans now favour recognising Palestinian statehood, while 31 per cent remain opposed. After three months as German leader, and nearly two years pushing one line on Israel, Merz now faces a revolt among CDU party members who refuse to accept his new memo. CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter described the weapons pause as 'a serious political and strategic mistake' that saw Merz yielding to Hamas propaganda and 'the anti-Semitic mob on the streets'.
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Confusion over Alaska summit shows Vladimir Putin still calls the shots
In the five or so months since Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy met at the Oval Office in late February, Ukrainian officials have worked hard to repair the damage of that day, which ended with the Ukrainian president being kicked out of the White House. With advice from European allies, Zelenskiy recalibrated his strategy for dealing with the Trump administration, and there was a feeling it was broadly going well. 'We managed to reset communications, to find a new language to work with Trump,' said one senior official in Kyiv a week ago. It has also seemed as if Trump's rhetoric was finally shifting as he termed Russia's bombing of Ukrainian cities 'disgusting' in recent weeks and set Vladimir Putin a deadline of last Friday to stop the war or face the imposition of crippling new sanctions. Then came envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow last Wednesday. Putin appears to have made no major concessions during the three-hour Kremlin meeting, and in return was rewarded not with debilitating sanctions but with an invitation to meet Trump in Alaska. The offer to thrash out a Ukrainian peace deal at a bilateral summit with Trump represents exactly the sort of great-power deal-making Putin has always craved. It will be his first trip to the United States since 2007, with the exception of visits to the UN. READ MORE Exactly how the Alaska summit will look is still unclear, with a particularly Trumpian kind of confusion and chaos accompanying its announcement. Kyiv, European capitals and even Trump's own staff have been trying to understand what exactly was agreed in the Kremlin. The first announcements from the White House suggested Putin would meet Trump, followed by a three-way meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy. This was swiftly denied by Putin. As he put it, 'we are still far from creating the conditions' for a meeting with Zelenskiy. An aide denied that the Russian side had ever agreed to a three-way meeting. A White House source told the New York Post on Thursday that if Putin did not agree to meet Zelenskiy, the meeting with Trump would not go ahead. But a few hours later, Trump denied that: he was happy to meet Putin anyway. The back-and-forth gave the distinct impression, not for the first time, that in the relationship between Trump and Putin, it is the Russian president who calls the shots. Some administration officials later briefed US media outlets that they may invite Zelenskiy anyway, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz , said in a Sunday interview he 'hopes and assumes' that Zelenskiy will take part. For now, this does not seem likely. A senior White House official told NBC that Trump was 'open' to a trilateral summit, but was 'focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by president Putin'. As worrying for Kyiv as the planned format of the talks is the apparent Russian deal now on the table. The plan, as it has been reported after filtering through the Trump administration and then to European capitals, is that the Ukrainian army should unilaterally withdraw from the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk it still controls, which would presumably include the fortified military stronghold of Kramatorsk. In exchange, the Kremlin would agree to freeze the lines in other places. 'Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers,' Zelenskiy said over the weekend , adding that handing over land to Russia would violate the Ukrainian constitution. He said any deal done without Ukraine was destined to be 'stillborn'. Zelenskiy's public posture that Ukraine will never cede land is true up to a point. Kyiv is unlikely to renounce legal claims to its own territory, but the Ukrainian elite and much of Ukrainian society is increasingly ready for a deal that would recognise Russian de facto control, perhaps for a set period of time, in exchange for ending the fighting. The main problem with such a deal has always been what kind of guarantees Ukraine would receive that Russia would not simply use a ceasefire as time to regroup before attacking again. Brief discussions earlier this year about a European peacekeeping force to police a ceasefire were quickly scaled back to a 'reassurance force' stationed far from the front lines. Ukrainians would therefore have not much to rely on but Putin's word – which they have learned from experience not to trust. Even still, there is a significant camp in the Ukrainian political and military elite which believes that, after more than three years of war, the situation has become so dire that the country is obliged to take such a deal, simply to allow for a pause in the fighting. The problem for Kyiv is that the deal Putin apparently pitched to Witkoff is significantly worse than simply freezing the lines. 'As things stand, Ukraine and Europe are on the verge of being confronted with exactly the kind of Faustian deal they feared would emerge back in February,' Sam Greene, a professor at King's College London, wrote on X. Over the past few days, Zelenskiy and his team have been rallying support among European leaders and trying to put together an alternative, European plan. Unfortunately for Kyiv, previous experience suggests Trump is unwilling or unable to exert real pressure on Putin. 'If Putin and Trump reach an agreement directly, Europe will be faced with a fait accompli. Kyiv – even more so,' said Roman Alekhin, a Russian war blogger, on Sunday. It is exactly that prospect that Ukraine's leadership will be doing their utmost to prevent in the days before Friday's summit. – Guardian service
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
State's €275m capital spending plan could unleash private sector co-investment and boost economic activity
The recent announcement of the €275.4 billion National Development Plan represents far more than the largest capital investment programme in the history of the State . It presents an opportunity to renew our commitment to the uniquely Irish approach that has transformed Ireland from an agricultural economy into a global hub for innovation and investment: the partnership between public vision and private enterprise that has served us well for nearly a century to deliver transformational outcomes. The Government's decision to publish this ambitious plan demonstrates a clear recognition of the infrastructure and housing delivery challenges faced by the State, and a determination to address them through strategic, co-ordinated action. At Fine Grain Property, a long-term investor and operator in Irish commercial real estate, we welcome this renewed commitment to co-ordinated delivery, regional investment, and unlocking private-sector capability. Ireland's future success depends not just on spending, but on smart investment that multiplies impact. READ MORE Looking towards the future we see that this plan has the positive potential to unleash private-sector co-investment, ingenuity and economic activity. When government spending acts as a strategic catalyst rather than a substitute for private investment, it can generate remarkable multiplier effects that amplify economic impact far beyond the initial expenditure. This 'crowding-in' effect occurs when government investment creates foundational conditions – whether through transport links, digital infrastructure or regulatory frameworks – that make private-sector projects viable and attractive, thereby unlocking capital that would otherwise remain dormant. This is one of the key objectives of our co-investor, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which in its 10-year history has achieved a multiplier estimated at 1.4 times on its investment, attracting €12.6 billion in private-sector investment to Ireland and creating 28,000 jobs. This virtuous cycle depends entirely on co-ordinated, strategic government action that spans departments and agencies. International research shows that when well-intentioned governance processes or government bodies operate in isolation, they risk creating the opposite effect: competing with the private sector, delaying delivery of projects and ultimately crowding out private investment by creating regulatory uncertainty and administrative burden. [ National Development Plan main points: how much is being spent and what are the big winners? Opens in new window ] As chief executive of Fine Grain Property, I have witnessed first hand how Ireland's collaborative approach to development creates exceptional outcomes for foreign direct investors. Since we started to invest in Ireland at a time when there was a critical shortage of office investment in 2015, our company has invested over €350 million across 16 locations, providing workplace communities for more than 65 multinational and domestic clients. In addition to great workplaces, world-class employees require excellent housing, and this is often quoted by our clients as the key constraint to their future growth plans. Alongside its ambitious direct housing investments, the NDP has the potential to unlock the expertise, speed to market and quality of private developers such as Glenveagh. When the State invests in water infrastructure, transport links and energy networks alongside effective planning, they unleash massive pent-up investment in housing, making Ireland an irresistible proposition for global businesses, and most importantly, a great place to live and work. Ireland's approach to transformational development didn't emerge overnight, but it has arguably been stifled in recent years. Ireland's development history is rich with examples of how public, private collaboration drives national success: from Ardnacrusha's hydro scheme in the 1920s to the Shannon Free Zone, the IFSC, and most recently, the Wild Atlantic Way, which now generates €3 billion annually. Each success shared one thing: a public-private vision, executed with urgency and mutual respect. Yet in recent years, momentum has slowed. Governance mechanisms – while critical for transparency – can, if poorly designed, become barriers to delivery. Planning delays, procurement complexity, and fragmented responsibilities often deter the very private partners the state seeks to engage. [ National Development Plan shows the Government is about to bet big on capital expenditure Opens in new window ] The principle of good governance should never mean paralysis and when systems are designed to facilitate rather than frustrate, they build trust and speed. That's what international best practice teaches us – and it's where Ireland must go next. Australia's Infrastructure Australia provides independent, long-term planning horizons that depoliticise infrastructure decisions. Singapore's structured PPP framework delivers projects 15-20 per cent faster than traditional procurement. These models demonstrate that effective governance and rapid delivery are not mutually exclusive – they can be mutually reinforcing when properly designed. The NDP scale and scope demonstrate the Government's recognition that the Republic's continued competitiveness requires not just investment, but the institutional capacity and structures to bring the public and private sectors together to work alongside each other. The €24.3 billion allocation for transport, including support for MetroLink, and the €3.5 billion equity injection for ESB Networks and EirGrid show a sophisticated understanding of the interconnected nature of modern infrastructure. Housing cannot be delivered without water and energy connections; sustainable energy demands a robust grid; transport networks require integrated planning; economic development depends on all these elements working together. IDA Ireland's new five-year strategy, targeting 1,000 new investments worth €7 billion in R&D alone, specifically identifies the critical need for suitable property solutions to meet prospective FDI demand. The agency's commitment to delivering 550 regional investments aligns perfectly with Fine Grain Property's strategy – more than half of our locations are outside Dublin, supporting balanced national growth. Our investor base – comprising long-term strategic partners like the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Grosvenor – shares a belief in Ireland's potential, provided we preserve our unique collaborative model. [ State investor pledges more than €160m to climate businesses Opens in new window ] Ireland's global success is powered not just by investment and infrastructure, but by its extraordinary diaspora network. Having spent more than 30 years in Asia before returning home, I've seen how this community opens doors – bringing not only capital, but cultural fluency, market insight and trusted relationships. Combined with Ireland's well-educated and innovative population, this global reach is a distinct competitive advantage. The NDP offers the resources to unlock our next phase of growth – and it's private partners who will multiply that impact. If we get this right, the next decade won't just address today's challenges – it will define a stronger, more resilient Ireland. The potential is there. The will is there. Now we must deliver – together. Colin MacDonald is chief executive of Fine Grain Property
