Crisis summit in Paris: can Europe find an answer to Trump?
The US may be willing to negotiate unilaterally with Russia to end the Ukraine war. European leaders are discussing the situation in Paris today.
Paris (d.de/dpa) – Several European leaders are meeting in Paris today to agree on a common strategy for working with the new US administration and their ideas for resolving the war in Ukraine. The meeting is being hosted by France’s President Macron. Along with Germany’s Chancellor Scholz the leaders from the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark are expected to attend. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council António Costa and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be present.
In concrete terms, the conference aims to agree on what offers can be made to Trump and where to draw red lines. The clear aim of US policy on Ukraine is to compel President Zelenskiy of Ukraine and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin into negotiations over the end of the war and to shift responsibility for guaranteeing a peace deal onto the Europeans. In recent days, discussions in Berlin and other European capitals have focused on demands to announce possible contributions to security guarantees for Ukraine.