The United States confirms that Europe is excluded from Ukrainian peace talks aimed at ending the Russian war.
Europe will be excluded from talks aimed at putting an end to the Russian war in Ukraine, said the United States leader in Ukraine sent.
General Keith Kellogg made this announcement on Saturday after the United States sent a questionnaire to European capitals to request what it could contribute to security guarantees for kyiv.
Trump took European allies by surprise this week by calling Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting them or kyiv beforehand and declare an immediate start to Ukrainian peace talks.
The Trump administration clearly indicated European allies In NATO to assume the main responsibility of the region, declaring that the United States has other priorities, such as border security and the fight against China.
When asked if he could assure the public that Ukrainians and Europeans would be at the table for talks, Kellogg told a global security conference in Munich that “the answer to this latter question, just like You have supervised it, is not ”.
The Ukrainians, however, will be “of course” at the table, he said, adding that it would be stupid to suggest the opposite.
European leaders were quick to react.
“There is no way where we can have discussions or negotiations on Ukraine, the future or European security structure of Ukraine, without Europeans,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the same conference security in Munich. “But that means that Europe must come together. Europe must speak less and do more. »»
A European diplomat said that the American questionnaire included six requests, one specifically for the member states of the European Union.
“The Americans approach European capitals and ask how many soldiers they are ready to deploy,” said a diplomat, reported the news agency Reuters.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sounded by urging Europeans to come together.
“To my European friends, I would say, enter the debate, not by complaining that you could, yes or no, be at the table, but by offering proposals, ideas, climbing [defence] Spend, “he told Munich.
France discusses with its allies the possibility of holding an informal meeting among European leaders on the issue, said a French presidency official on Saturday.
Kellogg told the conference that talks were aimed at ending War between Russia and Ukraine could focus on Russia’s territorial concessions and target Putin’s oil income.
“Russia is really petostate,” he said, adding that Western powers had to do more to effectively apply sanctions against Russia.
Kellogg’s announcement came shortly after The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy Called to the creation of a European army, claiming that the continent could no longer be sure of protection against the United States and would not obtain the respect of Washington with a strong soldier.
“Let’s be honest – now we cannot exclude the possibility that America can say no to Europe on questions that threaten it,” said Zelenskyy.
European nations cooperate militarily mainly within NATO, but governments have so far rejected various calls for the creation of a single European army over the years, arguing that defense has been a question of national sovereignty.
