The aim: Preserving European unity and supporting a just and lasting peace in the east of the continent. Following Donald Trump’s announcement of peace negotiations with Russia over Ukraine on Wednesday, February 12, the majority of the Old Continent’s capitals sought to close ranks behind Kyiv and demanded a place at the negotiating table. On Thursday, Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, declared on X that “peace in Ukraine and Europe’s security are inseparable. (…) There will be no credible and successful negotiations, no lasting peace, without Ukraine and without the EU.” In an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, Emmanuel Macron warned against a peace that would amount to “a capitulation” by Ukraine. “The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis,” said Macron.
Some capitals, such as Budapest and Bratislava, have distanced themselves from Brussels. “The position of Brussels – to support killing as long as it takes – is morally and politically unacceptable,” criticized Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister and supporter of both Trump and Vladimir Putin, on X. Rome, for its part, is debating whether to play for European unity or align itself with the American president. Giorgia Meloni has yet to make up her mind.
Read more Ukraine negotiations: Europe’s moment
Faced with this discord, Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, whose country holds the EU presidency for the next six months, stepped up his contacts with his counterparts on Thursday in an attempt to maintain unity: “The message is clear,” he wrote on X. “Ukraine, Europe and the US must be fully united and engage in peace talks.”
For now, Trump has opened the door to direct Ukrainian participation in the negotiations, but not to a European one. “Everyone understands that a negotiation format could involve America, Ukraine, and Russia – but where is Europe? I am also very interested in having Europe involved,” demanded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Asked by a reporter on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday whether Europe should be involved in negotiations along with the United States, Russia and Ukraine, US Vice President JD Vance said: “Sure they should. Of course.”
For the very pro-NATO Poland, it is imperative to come to an agreement: “The international situation is serious enough that we cannot afford internal disputes over our security,” said Tusk, a little earlier, also on X.
‘Stop the aggressor now’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, said that “a Russian victory or a Ukrainian collapse will not lead to peace – on the contrary.”
At a time when Trump has already dropped several demands on Ukrainian territory and Ukraine’s participation in NATO, Kaja Kallas, Europe’s foreign minister, condemned this strategy of “appeasement” already attempted in the 1930s against Hitler’s Germany, to the detriment of Czechoslovakia.
The Baltic leaders also raised their voices, proving the feverishness of these early Ukraine allies. “I assured [Volodymyr Zelensky] that nothing changes. The aggressor remains an aggressor, and the victim – the country under attack – must be supported,” said Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda. “A truce is not a sustainable peace. We must stop the aggressor now and forever.”
For his part, Orban again castigated “worthless statements” by the Europeans on Thursday. “You can’t request a seat at the negotiating table. You have to earn it! Through strength, good leadership and smart diplomacy,” he said on X. Robert Fico, head of the Slovak government, expressed his regret on Facebook about the “helplessness of the EU,” which, in its “military madness,” has only “blindly copied the Biden administration” and must now “content itself with watching from the sidelines.”
Read more Subscribers only Trump launches Ukraine peace negotiations with Putin, shattering the Allies’ unity
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.
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Publish date : 2025-02-14 05:44:00
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