Negotiations on a advanced stake that can decide on the future of east Europe must include Ukraine, warned leading European diplomats, after US president Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to hold talks. However, it is not only Kiev that fears exclusion from this process.
“Russia must be weakened on the battlefield”
— Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine and with Europeans," said the German abroad Minister Annalena Baerbock after Trump announced dialog with Putin. “We must follow this way together to bring peace back to Europe.
Also in an interview with Politico, Latvian abroad Minister Baiba Braze said that "Ukrainian representation in any peace talks is highly important".
According to Braze, while any diplomacy would gotta include Kiev, “To make a successful peace agreement, Russia must be weakened on the battlefield. Russian politics, economics, religion, media, private sector, religion — all of this is war-oriented. That is why Russia must be forced to peace."
TOMS KALNINS / PAPLatvian abroad Minister Baiba Braze at a press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Kestutis Budrys after joint talks in Riga, Latvia, 9 January 2025.
On Wednesday's release, the Kremlin reported that Trump and Putin spoke for 90 minutes. meantime The U.S. president posted on fact Social that both leaders “agreed to have our teams enter negotiations immediately”. "We will start by calling the president of Ukraine Zelenski to inform him about the conversation I am about to do," Trump added.
NATO not for Ukraine
Secretary of defence of the United States Pete Hegseth said earlier on Wednesday that Ukraine would not join NATOand Europe must be liable for its own defence. In a fiery reprimand Zelenski later said on the same day that “Putin does not want to end the war” and called on Trump to supply “real safety guarantees”.
After talking to the president of the United States, Zelenski said: “No 1 wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are planning further steps to halt Russian aggression and guarantee lasting, reliable peace. As president Trump said, let's do it" "We agreed that we would keep in contact and plan further meetings," he added.
Meeting with Zelenski in Munich
Trump confirmed that Vice president J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Zelenski on Friday in Munich. Recording his conversation with the Ukrainian leader, the president of the United States said: “The conversation went very well. He, like president Putin, wants PEACE."
Braze, who flew to Washington last week for talks with Trump's political allies and to advocate stronger relations with the US, said that her precedence would be to proceed providing Ukraine with military and another support.
She added that “the downgrading of Russia’s military capabilities is the way to peace. Investing in the strength of Ukraine is investing in peace. Weakening Russia is investing in peace. And sanctions and their effective implementation are an crucial element."
Trump's warm relation with Putin
European officials have long feared that historically warm individual relations between Trump and Putin can make them excluded from any high-level discussion on the future of their continent. The Republican had previously described the decision of his Russian counterpart to launch a full-scale brutal invasion of Ukraine as “gentle” and “smart”.
Speaking last week, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for a united front against Moscow, saying that “nobody wants peace more than the people of Ukraine. But there is only 1 way to a just and lasting peace they long for. This road leads through the military and financial strength of Ukraine".
