Latest news with #landswapping
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Everything we know as Trump meets with European leaders and Zelensky for emergency virtual summit
US president Donald Trump will meet with European leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for an emergency virtual summit on Wednesday. The call, organised by German chancellor Friedrich Merz, comes ahead of Trump's summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday as he endeavours to end the war in Ukraine. European leaders have expressed their concerns after Trump expressed there would be 'land swapping' in a ceasefire deal between the warring nations, which meant Ukraine would have to cede territory to Russia three years after Putin launched a full-scale invasion. He also said that Russia would have to accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin would be expected to surrender. Trump said on Monday he was 'going to get everybody's ideas' before meeting with Putin. The virtual summit is expected to focus on pressure options against Russia, questions about Ukrainian territories seized by Russia, security guarantees for Kyiv and the sequencing of potential peace talks, according to POLITICO. European leaders have expressed their concern about being sidelined from the meeting between DC and Moscow, as Zelensky is unlikely to appear at the Alaska meeting. Their overarching concern is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine. Twenty six European Union leaders issued a statement appealing to Trump on Tuesday, asking that he defend their security interests at Friday's summit. They said they 'welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.' But, they underlined, 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine" and "international borders must not be changed by force.' Chancellor Merz reportedly called Trump on Sunday, after telling Germany's public broadcaster ARD that Europe's leaders were 'preparing intensively at the European level together with the US government for this meeting.' "We cannot accept that territorial issues are decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians," Merz said. As well as Merz, Zelensky and Trump, British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to attend the virtual summit, as will other members of the Coalition of the Willing, a name given to the group of European leaders supporting Ukraine to end Russia's invasion. European leaders will meet with Nato and EU officials, as well as Zelensky, at 12pm GMT (1pm BST). An hour later, European leaders will meet separately with Trump and US vice president JD Vance. The coalition of the willing, hosted by Germany France and the UK, will then meet at 2.30pm (3.30pm BST), before Chancellor Merz enters a press conference at a time that has not been revealed yet.
The Independent
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump suggests both Ukraine and Russia will have to give up land for peace
US President Donald Trump has announced he will discuss "land swapping" with Russian president Vladimir Putin at their summit in Alaska this Friday, aiming to end the three-year-old war with Ukraine. Mr Trump told reporters there would 'be some land swapping going on', adding that this would involve "some bad stuff' for both countries. Mr Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky 's insistence on a national referendum for any peace deal involving territorial concessions. Mr Zelensky has maintained a firm stance against giving up land. European Union leaders issued a statement supporting Ukraine's security interests, stressing that a peace deal cannot be decided without Ukraine.
Fox News
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
EU hits back at Trump, Zelenskyy comments, no concessions in Ukraine before Putin ceasefire agreement
The European Union made their position on President Donald Trump's "land swapping" push clear following a ministerial powwow on Monday, and told Fox News Digital, there should be no "concessions" until Russia agrees to stop its war. "Russia has not agreed to full and unconditional ceasefire, we should not even discuss any concessions," EU policy chief Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital in a written statement. "It has never worked in the past with Russia, and will not work with Putin today. "The sequencing of the steps is important," she added. "First an unconditional ceasefire with a strong monitoring system and ironclad security guarantees." Kallas called for a virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers — as well as Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha who debriefed the officials on "ongoing diplomatic efforts and the battlefield situation" on Monday — following the announcement of the upcoming meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin set for Friday in Alaska. While the talks on Monday addressed additional sanctions against Russia, more military aid for Ukraine and more monetary support for Kyiv, they also coincided with comments made by Trump that struck a critical note of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European leaders have yet to respond directly to Trump's reproving tone ahead of his meeting with Putin on Friday, though Kallas' comments made clear neither the EU nor Ukraine support Trump's most recent proposal that Ukraine and Russia "swap" borders. "We fully support an end to this war in a way that doesn't leave a backdoor open for Russia to re-enter and restart its aggression," she said. "Ukraine's right to exist as a sovereign nation is under attack, as well as the security of our European continent." Details of Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin remain relatively unknown, though European officials are keen to remind both leaders of the need to involve them and Kyiv in the high-level talks. "The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously," Kallas told Fox News Digital. "Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security." Kallas has remained steadfast in her determination that any negotiations on Ukraine must include Europe as the continent stares down its most significant threat since World War II. But it is not only Europe's involvement in any security negotiations that EU leaders are looking to remind Trump of, but Ukraine's territorial sovereignty. "As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," Kallas said. "A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded." European leaders over the weekend from the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the EU issued a statement affirming that "the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine." Zelenskyy risked Trump's ire and looked to set the record straight on Saturday after the U.S. president suggested on Friday that Ukraine and Russia may "swap" territory. "You are looking at territory that has been fought over for 3.5 years," Trump told reporters from the White House in reference to land Russia has illegally invaded and occupied in eastern Ukraine. "We're looking at that. But we're looking at swapping. We're going to get some back." Zelenskyy responded by confirming that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier." "Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine — they are simultaneously decisions against peace," he added. "These are dead decisions; they will never work. And what we all need is a real, living peace, one that people will respect." In her comments to Fox News Digital, Kallas looked to remind Trump that Putin's interests lay outside a mere land grab in Ukraine — it is an existential threat to the European continent. "Russia's war aims are more than just seizing territory in Ukraine," she said. "Russia started this war to destroy Ukraine and Europe's security. "A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe," she added. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Trump, Zelenskyy, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for another virtual meeting on Wednesday with other European leaders ahead of Trump's top talks, reports confirmed on Monday. Trump on Monday reiterated his goal that first he will meet with Putin, and then Zelenskyy will meet with Putin, with or without the U.S. president, to secure a ceasefire.
Fox News
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump goes after Zelenskyy over 'land swapping' dispute, lays out 'feel out meeting' with Putin
President Donald Trump took aim at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a press event on Monday over his frustration with the Ukrainian leader's objection to "land swapping." "I get along with Zelenskyy, but, you know, I disagree with what he's done, very, very severely, disagree. This is a war that should have never happened," Trump said, reiterating his belief that the Ukrainian president is in part at fault for Russia's illegal 2022 invasion. "I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, 'Well, I have to get constitutional approval'," Trump said. "I mean, he's got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap, because there'll be some land swapping going on." "I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody," Trump added, noting it was "for the good of Ukraine." Zelenskyy – who did not declare war on Russia, as Moscow had already invaded, did declare Martial Law on Feb. 24, 2022 with the approval of Ukraine's parliament, which gave him presidential powers to mobilize a military response — made clear over the weekend that he objected to Trump's "land swapping" proposal and has repeatedly said it would require a national referendum under the nation's constitution, not a unilateral decision by him. Trump wouldn't detail what exactly he hopes to get out of the meeting with Putin and described it as a "feel-out meeting," saying within "the first two minutes [he'll] know exactly whether or not a deal can be made." "I'm going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I'm going to be telling him, you got to end this war, you got to end it," Trump said, reiterating his belief that if he had won the 2020 election, Putin wouldn't have invaded Ukraine, saying "he wasn't going to mess with me." "I go into that thing fully loaded right up there, and we're going to see what happens," he continued. "It could be a good meeting, and we'll go a step further. We'll get it done. "I'd like to see a ceasefire very, very quickly, very quick," he continued. "And, we're going to be dealing with the European leaders and, we're going to be dealing with President Zelensky and hopefully we're going to have a great success."
