Europe excluded from peace talks on Ukraine

General Keith Kellogg, a peculiar U.S. envoy for Ukraine and Russia, at the Munich safety Conference announced that Europe would not straight participate in forthcoming peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Kellogg announced that the peace plan could be presented within days or weeks.

“I am here to make a contribution, of course, (Europeans), but erstwhile we sit at the table, there will truly be 2 protagonists (...) and an intermediary”, he added.

According to Kellogg, a two-track strategy is presently underway, where the US consults Russia and Ukraine and its allies separately. However, he explained that although Europe may not participate physically in the negotiations, its interests will be taken into account.

“We don’t want to talk besides much,” he said.

The U.S. decision to exclude Europe from direct negotiations has been met with harsh criticism of European leaders.

“We cannot discuss the future of Ukraine and Europe’s safety structure without Europeans” said Finnish president Alexander Stubb.

The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, added that talks must lead to peace that will guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The erstwhile Minister of abroad Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, besides spoke and criticized Europe's passive attitude.

“I realize the frustration that Europe is not sitting at the negotiating table, but this is due to the fact that Europe does not have much to offer”, Litwin said. “If we were ready to send troops, money, to offer Ukraine EU membership, we would have our own negotiating table. We could invitation Ukraine, Putin, Trump and others to discuss peace on our own terms. But unfortunately, now we're just observers. And erstwhile you're just an observer, the 1 you depend on sets the rules.”

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenski, expressed concern about the deficiency of European participation in peace talks. He called for the creation of European armed forces in which Ukraine would play a key role. In his opinion, Europe must take greater work for its security.

Many European leaders are afraid that the U.S. decision may weaken their position and lead to a peace agreement under unfavourable conditions for Ukraine. In response, French president Emmanuel Macron convened an extraordinary summit of European leaders in Paris to make a common strategy for American action.

Peace talks are scheduled for the coming week in Saudi Arabia. Europe's deficiency of direct participation in the negotiations raises questions about the future safety architecture of the continent and how to guarantee lasting peace in Ukraine. At the same time, concerns arise that the US plan may contain elements of territorial concessions for Russia, which would pose a serious threat to the stableness of the region.