Trump wants Ukraine to have say on territory talks
Trump's insistence on involving Ukraine, if confirmed, could bring a measure of relief to Ukraine and its allies, who have feared that Trump and Putin could reach a deal that sells out Europe's and Ukraine's security interests and proposes to carve up Ukrainian territory. Trump and Putin are due to discuss how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has said both sides will have to swap land to end the fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
On a day of intense diplomacy, Zelensky flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Trump. The Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for almost 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian territory, and emboldening Putin to expand further west into the future. "The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president," Macron said.
"There are currently no serious territorial exchange schemes on the table." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump would prioritise reaching a ceasefire on Friday, adding that there was no question of legally recognising Russia's territorial holdings.
Zelensky said there should be a three-way meeting between himself, Putin and Trump. Merz said Ukraine was prepared to negotiate on territorial issues, but "legal recognition of Russian occupation is not up for debate". "If the United States of America now works towards a peace in Ukraine that safeguards European and Ukrainian interests, he can count on our full support in this endeavour," Merz said at a joint press conference with Zelensky.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he warned US President Donald Trump ahead of his talks with Vladimir Putin this week that the Russian leader is "bluffing" about his desire to end the war. "I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing," he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine."
Zelensky's comments, made after a virtual call with Trump and European leaders, come as Russian forces step up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, aiming to force Kyiv to give up land. Zelensky, who said he hoped the main topic of the talks in Alaska would be an immediate ceasefire, added that any discussions regarding territory should be covered during a three-leader meeting. "Regarding our principles and territorial integrity, in the end, this is all decided at the level of leaders," he said. "Without Ukraine, it is impossible to decide this. And, by the way, everyone also supports this." Zelensky said Trump told him he would debrief him about his talks with Putin.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told US President Donald Trump and European leaders that support for Ukraine was unwavering and that there should be robust security guarantees as part of any peace deal with Russia. "The Prime Minister was clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering — international borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal," a readout of a call from Starmer's Downing Street office said. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
5 hours ago
- Observer
Trump-Putin summit to take place on US military base
WASHINGTON: The summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, a White House official said on Wednesday. The two leaders will meet on Friday to discuss an end to the more than three-year war in Ukraine, in what will be their first standalone summit since a 2018 meeting in Helsinki. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson - located near Alaska state capital Anchorage - is made up of the Elmendorf Air Force base and the Army's Fort Richardson, which were combined in 2010. The base is the headquarters for entities including Alaska Command - responsible for US forces in the state - as well as the Alaskan NORAD Region, which helps provide aerospace control and warning. The US military regularly conducts intercepts of Russian aircraft that venture near American airspace in Alaska, contacting Moscow's planes visually or electronically. Russia launched a full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump has spent the first months of his second term in office trying to broker a peace accord, an effort that has so far failed to yield a breakthrough. Meanwhile, Trump said on Wednesday he'd had a 'very good call' with European leaders including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky as he prepares for Friday's summit with Putin. 'We had a very good call. He was on the call - President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it at 10, you know, very, very friendly,' he told reporters during an event at Washington's Kennedy Center. Trump added that he wants to hold a 'quick second' meeting with Putin and Zelensky after the Alaska summit. — Agencies
Times of Oman
6 hours ago
- Times of Oman
'No unilateral Ukraine peace deal in Alaska': Zelenskyy, European leaders urge Trump
Berlin: European leaders, concerned about potential concessions to Russia, urged US President Donald Trump not to strike a unilateral Ukraine peace deal with President Vladimir Putin during their upcoming meeting in Alaska, CNN reported. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened a virtual summit with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and several European leaders amid fears that Putin could seek to influence the US president into accepting terms favourable to Russia. After the virtual summit, Zelensky and German Chancellor address reporters in Berlin, Germany, following their meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, as per CNN. Two European diplomats familiar with the virtual meeting confirmed that Trump appeared to say that he would push for an unconditional ceasefire in his meeting with Putin. According to sources, Trump said that he believed that a ceasefire would be a show of goodwill from Russia, and he also noted that the Ukrainian territory is not for him to negotiate. The leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland, NATO, and the European Union had taken part in the virtual meeting with Trump. It was followed by another larger meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" that US Vice President JD Vance attended, according to CNN. After the meeting, Zelensky said leaders agreed on "five common principles" to lay out the "format of negotiations" to be held in Alaska, including a focus on a ceasefire and "truly reliable" security guarantees. "Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire, that is number one," he said. He added: "There must be security guarantees, truly reliable ones. And today, President Trump spoke of his support for this and of America's readiness to participate." "Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine's European and NATO prospects," he said. "Peace talks must be combined with appropriate pressure on Russia." Zelensky also emphasised that sanctions against Russia should be strengthened if no ceasefire agreement is reached on Friday.
Observer
19 hours ago
- Observer
Trump wants Ukraine to have say on territory talks
BERLIN: US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine must be involved in talks about land in any truce deal with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, suggesting Kyiv and its European allies had got their message across before a superpower summit. The comments were among the first indications of what came out of talks between Trump, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, intended to influence Trump as he prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Trump's insistence on involving Ukraine, if confirmed, could bring a measure of relief to Ukraine and its allies, who have feared that Trump and Putin could reach a deal that sells out Europe's and Ukraine's security interests and proposes to carve up Ukrainian territory. Trump and Putin are due to discuss how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has said both sides will have to swap land to end the fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions. On a day of intense diplomacy, Zelensky flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Trump. The Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for almost 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian territory, and emboldening Putin to expand further west into the future. "The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president," Macron said. "There are currently no serious territorial exchange schemes on the table." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump would prioritise reaching a ceasefire on Friday, adding that there was no question of legally recognising Russia's territorial holdings. Zelensky said there should be a three-way meeting between himself, Putin and Trump. Merz said Ukraine was prepared to negotiate on territorial issues, but "legal recognition of Russian occupation is not up for debate". "If the United States of America now works towards a peace in Ukraine that safeguards European and Ukrainian interests, he can count on our full support in this endeavour," Merz said at a joint press conference with Zelensky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he warned US President Donald Trump ahead of his talks with Vladimir Putin this week that the Russian leader is "bluffing" about his desire to end the war. "I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing," he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine." Zelensky's comments, made after a virtual call with Trump and European leaders, come as Russian forces step up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, aiming to force Kyiv to give up land. Zelensky, who said he hoped the main topic of the talks in Alaska would be an immediate ceasefire, added that any discussions regarding territory should be covered during a three-leader meeting. "Regarding our principles and territorial integrity, in the end, this is all decided at the level of leaders," he said. "Without Ukraine, it is impossible to decide this. And, by the way, everyone also supports this." Zelensky said Trump told him he would debrief him about his talks with Putin. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told US President Donald Trump and European leaders that support for Ukraine was unwavering and that there should be robust security guarantees as part of any peace deal with Russia. "The Prime Minister was clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering — international borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal," a readout of a call from Starmer's Downing Street office said. — Reuters
