
Zelenskyy rules out territorial concessions ahead of Aug. 15 Trump-Putin peace talks
'The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this – and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
His comments came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss a potential settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Media reports have suggested that Trump wants Zelenskyy to participate in the meeting, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Zelenskyy warned against making any decisions regarding Ukraine without Ukrainian participation, saying such agreements would be 'stillborn' and 'unworkable.'
He stressed that Ukraine is ready for 'real decisions' that can bring peace, but only those that involve Kyiv directly.
'Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,' he said.
'We are ready to work together with President Trump, together with all our partners for real and, most importantly, lasting peace.' — Agencies
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump Putin meeting
KYIV: European nations rallied behind Ukraine, saying peace in the war-torn nation can't be resolved without Kyiv, ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Trump had said Friday's meeting in Alaska with his Russian counterpart was to discuss ending the more than three-year war. Zelensky responded by thanking European allies and wrote on X on Sunday: 'The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people.' Trump-Putin meeting spikes worries Saturday's statement by top European leaders came after the White House confirmed the US president was willing to grant Putin the one-on-one meeting Russia has long pushed for, and suggestions from Trump that a peace deal could include 'some swapping of territories.' That raised fears that Kyiv may be pressured into giving up land or accepting other curbs on its sovereignty. A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren't allowed to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Trump remained open to a trilateral summit with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, but for now, he will have a bilateral meeting requested by Putin. Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance met Saturday with top European and Ukrainian officials at the British Foreign Secretary's weekend residence to discuss how to end the war. Trump had earlier said he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Zelensky. The Trump-Putin meeting may prove pivotal in a war that began when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there's no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace. The statement Saturday's statement, signed by the president of the European Union and leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the UK, stressed the need for a 'just and lasting peace' for Kyiv, including 'robust and credible' security guarantees. 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,' the statement said. 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,' the Europeans added. A fruitless push toward a truce A monthlong US-led push to achieve a truce in Ukraine has so far proved fruitless, with Kyiv agreeing in principle while the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking. Trump had also moved up an ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. The deadline was Friday. The White House did not answer questions Saturday about possible sanctions. The Kremlin earlier this week reiterated demands that Ukraine give up territory, abandon its bid to join NATO, and accept limits on its military, in exchange for a withdrawal of Russian troops from the rest of the country. Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine 'will not give Russia any awards for what it has done' and that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' Ukrainian officials previously told the AP privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraine's inability to regain lost territories militarily. But Zelensky on Saturday insisted that formally ceding land was out of the question.


Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Threatens Planned Trump Corridor Envisaged by Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Deal
Iran threatened on Saturday to block a corridor planned in the Caucasus under a regional deal sponsored by US President Donald Trump, Iranian media reported, raising a new question mark over a peace plan hailed as a strategically important shift. A top Azerbaijani diplomat said earlier that the plan, announced by Trump on Friday, was just one step from a final peace deal between his country and Armenia, which reiterated its support for the plan. The proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would run across southern Armenia, giving Azerbaijan a direct route to its exclave of Nakhchivan and in turn to Türkiye. The US would have exclusive development rights to the corridor, which the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources. It was not immediately clear how Iran, which borders the area, would block it but the statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, raised questions over its security. He said military exercises carried out in northwest Iran demonstrated the country's readiness and determination to prevent any geopolitical changes. "This corridor will not become a passage owned by Trump, but rather a graveyard for Trump's mercenaries," Velayati said. Iran's foreign ministry earlier welcomed the agreement "as an important step toward lasting regional peace", but warned against any foreign intervention near its borders that could "undermine the region's security and lasting stability". Analysts and insiders say that Iran, under mounting US pressure over its disputed nuclear program and the aftermath of a 12-day war with Israel in June, lacks the military power to block the corridor. MOSCOW SAYS WEST SHOULD STEER CLEAR Trump welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the White House on Friday and witnessed their signing of a joint declaration aimed at drawing a line under their decades-long on-off conflict. Russia, a traditional broker and ally of Armenia in the strategically important South Caucasus region which is crisscrossed with oil and gas pipelines, was not included, despite its border guards being stationed on the border between Armenia and Iran. While Moscow said it supported the summit, it proposed "implementing solutions developed by the countries of the region themselves with the support of their immediate neighbors – Russia, Iran and Türkiye" to avoid what it called the "sad experience" of Western efforts to mediate in the Middle East. Azerbaijan's close ally, NATO member Türkiye, welcomed the accord. Baku and Yerevan have been at odds since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting almost all of the territory's 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. "The chapter of enmity is closed and now we're moving towards lasting peace," said Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Britain, predicting that the wider region's prosperity and transport links would be transformed for the better. "This is a paradigm shift," said Suleymanov, who as a former envoy to Washington who used to work in President Aliyev's office, is one of his country's most senior diplomats. Suleymanov declined to speculate on when a final peace deal would be signed however, noting that Aliyev had said he wanted it to happen soon. There remained only one obstacle, said Suleymanov, which was for Armenia to amend its constitution to remove a reference to Nagorno-Karabakh. "Azerbaijan is ready to sign any time once Armenia fulfils the very basic commitment of removing its territorial claim against Azerbaijan in its constitution," he said. MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED Pashinyan this year called for a referendum to change the constitution, but no date for it has been set yet. Armenia is to hold parliamentary elections in June 2026, and the new constitution is expected to be drafted before the vote. The Armenian leader said on X that the Washington summit had paved the way to end the decades of conflict and open transport connections that would unlock strategic economic opportunities. Asked when the transit rail route would start running, Suleymanov said that would depend on cooperation between the US and Armenia whom he said were already in talks. Joshua Kucera, Senior South Caucasus analyst at International Crisis Group, said Trump may not have got the easy win he had hoped for as the agreements left many questions unanswered. The issue of Armenia's constitution continued to threaten to derail the process, and it was not clear how the new transport corridor would work in practice. "Key details are missing, including about how customs checks and security will work and the nature of Armenia's reciprocal access to Azerbaijani territory. These could be serious stumbling blocks," said Kucera. Suleymanov played down suggestions that Russia, which still has extensive security and economic interests in Armenia, was being disadvantaged. "Anybody and everybody can benefit from this if they choose to," he said.


Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
European allies insist Ukraine must be part of any Russia peace talks
LONDON — European leaders have reaffirmed that any peace talks with Russia must include Ukraine, issuing a joint statement ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. The statement, signed by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission, came as the White House confirmed Trump was open to a possible trilateral meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but, for now, it remains a bilateral Trump-Putin summit, as requested by Moscow. Zelensky warned that any agreements reached without Kyiv's participation would be 'dead decisions.' Responding to Trump's suggestion that territorial swaps could be part of a deal, the Ukrainian leader said, 'We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated... Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace.' Citing unnamed sources, CBS reported the White House is trying to persuade European allies to support a proposal allowing Russia to take full control of the Donbas region and retain Crimea, a move European leaders firmly oppose. 'International borders must not be changed by force,' the statement said, vowing continued diplomatic, military, and financial support for Kyiv. French President Emmanuel Macron stressed on social media that Europe must be part of any settlement, warning against an arrangement decided solely by Washington and Moscow. On Sunday, Zelensky thanked allies for their backing, saying Ukraine's fight was also a defense of Europe's security interests. The Alaska meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021. Nine months later, Moscow launched its full-scale invasion, later declaring the annexation of four Ukrainian regions despite lacking full control. — Agencies