‘Willing to step up’: Europe says it is committed to Ukraine ahead of Russia-US talks
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French President Emmanuel Macron (centre), European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reacting after a meeting in France on Feb 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS/RIYADH – Europe will invest more in security and lead on providing guarantees to Kyiv, but cooperation with Washington to secure peace remains crucial, European leaders said after an emergency meeting held ahead of US-Russia talks on Ukraine on Feb 18.
French President Emmanuel Macron pulled together an urgent meeting after US President Donald Trump arranged bilateral talks between envoys from Washington and Moscow in Saudi Arabia, and excluded European allies and Ukraine from them.
“Europe is ready and willing to step up,” Nato boss Mark Rutte said on X after the meeting. “To lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine. Ready and willing to invest a lot more in our security.”
Working together with Washington on safeguarding any agreement to end the war in Ukraine remains key, officials said.
“Everyone feels (a) great sense of urgency,” Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X. “At this crucial time for the security of Europe, we must continue to stand behind Ukraine.”
He said: “Europe will have to make a contribution towards safeguarding any agreement, and cooperation with the Americans is essential.”
It remains unclear, however, how Europe will engage Washington after Mr Trump stunned Ukraine and European allies calling last week Russian President Vladimir Putin, long ostracised by the West, without consulting them.
“We agree with President Trump on a ‘peace through strength’ approach,” a European official said after the Paris meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US decision has sparked a realisation among European nations that they will have to do more to ensure Ukraine’s security.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who ahead of the meeting said he was willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, on the evening of Feb 17 said there must be a US security commitment for European countries
Mr Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy, said he would visit Ukraine from Feb 19 and was asked if the US would provide a security guarantee for any European peacekeepers.
“I’ve been with President Trump, and the policy has always been: You take no options off the table,” he said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country would never accept any peace deals reached behind its back or without Kyiv’s involvement.
US and Russia to meet in Saudi Arabia
The Feb 18 scheduled talks between senior US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, the highest-level in-person discussions between the two nations in years, are meant to precede a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman on Feb 17 met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov were due to take part, the Kremlin said.
But there were signs of differences of approach.
Mr Rubio’s spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the conversation would determine if the Russians were serious about peace talks, “about perhaps if that first step is even possible”.
The Kremlin said the talks would focus on “restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations”.
On arrival in Riyadh, Mr Ushakov said talks on Ukraine will be strictly bilateral, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.
“We came to negotiate with American colleagues,” RIA cited Mr Ushakov as saying. “There can be no trilateral talks in Riyadh.”
Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev will meet a US delegation in Saudi Arabia on Feb 17 to focus on strengthening ties and increased economic cooperation, a source in Riyadh said.
CNN quoted Mr Dmitriev as saying he had already met several members of the Trump team in Riyadh and that they and Mr Trump were “great problem-solvers.”
“I think the promise is: let’s have dialogue, let’s figure out the best solution for our countries, for other countries, for the global community,” he was quoted as saying.
According to CNN, Mr Dmitriev denied Russia primarily sought to alleviate sanctions and said the US and Russian economies could both benefit from working together.
“I think it’s very important to build bridges. I think US-Russia relations are very important for the world,” he said. REUTERS
