Latest news with #internationalborders
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Europe pushes hard to sway Trump before Alaska summit with Putin on Ukraine
BRUSSELS — European leaders are seeking to impress upon President Donald Trump one key point before he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday: The West cannot — must not — negotiate away Ukrainian territory, especially for nothing in return. As Trump floats 'land swaps,' Kyiv's European backers have rejected a Russian proposal to trade Ukrainian land for an undefined truce. And they have issued declarations that 'international borders must not be changed by force.' European leaders are set to press their priorities in a call with Trump on Wednesday, organized by Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which will include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call is intended to shape Trump's thinking before he sits down with Putin one-on-one in Alaska. The Europeans are insisting that Moscow agree to a ceasefire before negotiations over territory, and that Kyiv needs security guarantees. And, if such negotiations occur, a European counteroffer has pushed the idea that any retreat of Ukrainian forces from Ukrainian-controlled territory should be matched on an inch-for-inch basis by Russia's withdrawal from occupied Ukrainian territory, according to three people briefed on the discussions. European and NATO allies have often failed to sway Trump's thinking, or even to be heard by the U.S. president ahead of big policy decisions, such as to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. And they are frequently dismayed by Trump's policy moves, for example, his unilateral imposition of tariffs. The Europeans recognize that they can only do so much to influence a president who often veers off-script and likes nothing more than to declare a deal. But on Ukraine recently they have met with some success, for example, by persuading Trump to allow them to transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine and purchase replacements for themselves. And in recent days, especially after a meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Britain over the weekend, they have found the U.S. administration receptive to some of their red lines. After that meeting, Vance, in a television interview, endorsed at least one European position — that the current line of contact and positioning of Ukrainian and Russian troops should be the starting point of any talks — rejecting a Russian demand that Ukraine first surrender its entire eastern Donbas area. Ahead of Wednesday's call some Europeans expressed guarded optimism, especially with Trump seeming to lower expectations of securing a deal in Alaska. There appears to be 'more of an understanding from the Americans that you can't just go for land swaps which would somehow give a prize to Russia,' said one European Union official, who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Still, the official added, 'it's clear that there are sort of discrepancies, and as we've seen it in the U.S. system by now, you have one man who will decide.' But even with Trump making a more concerted effort to consult allies and keep them updated, there has been confusion over whether Putin is even willing to swap territory, officials said. The administration understood that a partial Russian retreat might be possible after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff returned from meeting with Putin in Moscow last week. However, the Russian offer apparently calls for a Ukrainian surrender of territory that Russian forces don't even control as a precondition for a ceasefire, the people briefed on the talks said. As that mix-up has come untangled, the administration has lowered expectations for the high-stakes Trump-Putin summit, officials said. Wednesday's call with Trump caps a flurry of meetings and statements organized by the Europeans since the Alaska summit was announced, all of which have provided a strong endorsement of Kyiv's position. Wednesday's virtual summit hosted by Germany will include the leaders of France, Britain, Italy, Poland, Finland, the E.U. and NATO. The Europeans will meet first with Zelensky before Trump and Vance are expected to join the call. Trump has also promised to call Zelensky and European leaders right after talking with Putin, to relay whether 'a fair deal' is on the table. 'It's not up to me to make a deal,' he told reporters Monday — seemingly echoing a European refrain that a truce cannot be sealed without them or Ukraine. 'I have many fears and a lot of hope,' Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this week. Tusk said recent comments indicate Trump is increasingly understanding of Ukrainian and European views on the war, but that he was not so sure that would hold. 'I guess everyone's afraid Putin will play Trump's ego again like he has in the past,' said a second European official. 'Who knows, maybe he comes there with another noble-sounding offer or maybe they give [Trump] some state award.' Trump has repeatedly balked after threatening to pressure Russia into a ceasefire. As recently as last week, the president's mounting frustrations with Russia stalling on a ceasefire, and his threats of fresh U.S. sanctions, gave way to his invitation to Putin to meet on U.S. soil. While there has been speculation that Trump may yet try to involve Zelensky in the Alaska talks, European leaders are definitely not invited — giving them little sway over the diplomatic spectacle, even as they have become Ukraine's chief military and financial backer. Most proposals for a truce also envision a role for European nations in enforcing any deal that could reshape the continent's future security. In the scramble to sway Trump, European officials have also stressed that any deal must give Ukraine a bulwark against future attacks, especially because Putin is insisting that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has suggested a deal could involve acknowledging de facto Russian control of some of Ukraine's regions, without Kyiv officially ceding them. If Trump's meeting with Putin advances to 'full-scale negotiations,' Rutte said Sunday, territory would 'have to be on the table,' as would security guarantees for Ukraine. Rutte said talks should recognize 'that Ukraine decides on its own future,' with 'no limitations' on its military or on NATO's posture in Eastern Europe. Freezing the current front lines would leave about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory in Russian hands. Ukraine, meanwhile, has little leverage for a land swap, holding a small toehold in Russia's western Kursk region since a faltering offensive last year. 'Europeans can say what they want, but in the end, Ukraine and Russia will have to agree,' said a third European official. 'It's unlikely there's a peace deal now where Putin says, okay, I'm going to withdraw from all of Ukraine.' The chief diplomat for the 27-nation European Union, Kaja Kallas, told the bloc's foreign ministers in recent days that the initial contours of a deal between Washington and Moscow seemed to 'focus on territory only' and that 'the Ukrainians are very worried,' according to a copy of a written note seen by The Washington Post. Kallas warned against a 'fragile ceasefire' that would solidify Russia's gains in more than three years of war. On Monday, Kallas held a four-hour virtual meeting of E.U. foreign ministers to deliberate on Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting and on Israel's war in Gaza. The E.U. official said they didn't see 'willingness' from Kyiv or many of its staunch European allies for trading territory within Ukraine, citing distrust with Russia, which is pressing its advances in the east and attacks on Ukrainian cities. 'We have to understand the Ukrainian position, they have a million men who've been fighting for years now, so it's also something that President Zelensky wouldn't be able to have domestically accepted,' the official said. Though polls show war-weary Ukrainians increasingly favor a settlement to end the fighting, it would be tough to sell ceding territory — home to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and where forces built up defensive lines over years — for a ceasefire that can't be guaranteed. But even as Europe insists that Ukraine must receive security guarantees, its own ideas of what those guarantees would look like remain fuzzy. Ukraine's chief backers say guarantees should start with pledges of more weapons and training for its army, and that they will reject any Russian demand to limit Ukraine's military. Kyiv's top aspiration — NATO membership — seems far-fetched without U.S. buy-in, and a plan for European troops in Ukraine remains on a back burner. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said European governments can shape the talks as Ukraine's chief suppliers of arms and cash. 'That blocks the possibility for Trump to make any concessions to Putin on what I think is among the most important of his demands,' to halt the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, Bildt said. European leaders also still control billions in Russian frozen assets that will factor into negotiations, as well as the battery of sanctions that Russia wants lifted. Camille Grand, a former NATO and French defense official, said there was a disconnect between Europe's financial and political investment in the Ukraine war and its role in the upcoming talks. 'The Europeans today provide the bulk of humanitarian, economic and military aid, and have now accepted to pay for American weapons,' Grand told French public radio, 'while in the negotiations, they can at best hope to influence the American position or to support Ukraine.' Catherine Belton in London contributed to this report.
The National
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
Path to peace ‘cannot be decided without Ukraine', says EU
Russia's aggression must not be rewarded with territory, EU leaders have warned, declaring that 'international borders must not be changed by force'. The bloc emphasised 'the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny' in a statement issued three days before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Europe's leaders are appealing to Mr Trump to defend their security interests at the summit in Alaska on Friday. The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Mr Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia's energy might to try to intimidate the EU, might secure favourable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be invited to the meeting because it is 'vital' that Ukraine has a say in its future. 'It's clear Putin just wants to talk to Trump and go for an old-fashioned way of dividing territories,' she told the BBC after 26 of the 27 EU countries released a statement welcoming Mr Trump's efforts 'towards ending Russia's war of aggression and achieving a just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine'. Mr Zelenskyy and European leaders are scheduled to meet Mr Trump on Wednesday. A French diplomatic source believes the Alaska summit 'can be a success, provided it leads to an unconditional ceasefire on the ground, accompanied by specific monitoring arrangements to be agreed upon by Ukraine, paving the way for negotiations in which Ukraine will be a party'. The source added: 'Europeans cannot support an agreement that would affect their vital security interests.' EU foreign ministers met on Monday to agree a position of unity. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said peace 'must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it'. He held a call with Canada's Mark Carney on Monday night in which they agreed Ukraine's future 'must be one of freedom, sovereignty and self-determination'. Mr Trump has been vague about his expectations for the Alaska summit, describing it as a 'feel-out meeting' to gauge the Russian leader's ideas for ending the war in Ukraine. Mr Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding any territory seized by force. Mr Trump said he was a 'little bothered' by Mr Zelenskyy's stance and insisted land swaps would need to take place. 'There'll be some swapping, there'll be some changes in land,' he said. But Mr Trump said he would also tell Putin that 'you've got to end this war'. Russia holds shaky control over four of Ukraine's regions, two in the country's east and two in the south. In Tuesday's statement, the EU leaders said: 'A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force. 'The people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.' The statement was meant to be a demonstration of European unity. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is Putin's closest ally in Europe and has tried to block EU support for Ukraine, did not sign up. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused the 'EU's pro-war politicians' of trying to 'sabotage the success of the Trump–Putin meeting'. Mr Szijjarto said on X: 'An American–Russian agreement offers the best chance for peace.'
Sky News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Why Israel is getting involved in Syria's internal fighting
Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus. Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else. Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control. On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes. "The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel," stated the Israel Defence Forces. In reality, Syria's ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel's state-of-the art military. 0:08 The Syrian armour was attacked as it entered the area around Sweida in the Druze heartland of southern Syria following factional fighting there. The flare-up reportedly began with clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups that ended in scores killed. The background to the escalation is complicated. At least three Druze militia groups are divided in their loyalties to different religious leaders and differ over how they should respond to calls to assimilate into the new post-revolutionary Syria. Israel is becoming more and more involved in Syria's internecine war and says it will remain there indefinitely "to protect our communities and thwart any threat". Its critics say Israel is operating a policy of divide and rule in Syria, weakening the fledgling government and creating a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights - originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has used airstrikes to destroy of much of Syria's military capability weakening its ability to impose control on outlying regions. This makes it more not less likely Israel will have a volatile unstable state on its northern border. America and European powers have chosen to normalise relations with the new government in Damascus and lift sanctions. In contrast Israel has occupied its territory, bombed its military and today hit one of its government buildings in the capital with an airstrike. Since its crushing military campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has emerged as the unchallenged military power of the region. There is however a limit to what blunt force can achieve alone. It requires diplomacy to achieve lasting gains and Israel's repeated assaults on multiple neighbours combined with its relentless campaign in Gaza are winning it few friends in the region.
