The western capitals have a potentially determined week for European security, since the United States and Russia conclude talks to terminate the war in Ukraine and in the European leaders in order to react to the fast -moving negotiations that take place without them.
The most powerful managers in Europe will gather for crisis talks about Ukraine and the future of European defense on Monday, triggered by Donald Trump’s decision to open peace talks with Russia. These conversations will officially begin in Saudi Arabia this week when Trump’s top diplomat Marco Rubio is related to Russia’s Sergei Lavrov.
The Rubio-Lavrov meeting aims to lay Trump’s foundation for Trump to meet Vladimir Putin, less than a week after the US leader shocked the European capitals by agreed with his Russian counterpart, to start peace talks.
The lack of input of Europeans will underline negotiations, which could ultimately redesign the security architecture of the continent.
“This is the beginning of the beginning. Things are definitely moving, ”Alexander Stubb, President of Finland, told Financial Times. “Do the tectonic plates shift?”
With regard to the date of the full invasion of Russia, he added: “I think the world order began to postpone on February 24, 2022, and we are now seeing the direction in which it could go.”
The leaders, including the British Prime Minister Keir Starrer, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the heads of the EU institutions and NATO, will come together tomorrow at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
You will discuss specific plans that aim to protect European defense independently of the future US engagement, said the officials who were informed about the preparations and how to best support Ukraine and strengthen their negotiating position.
Starrer said it was a “unique generation moment for our national security, in which we deal with the reality of the world today”.
“It’s crazy how quickly it moves,” said a western official about the talks. “Everything (Europe) has to give Ukraine as much as possible so that it can better say about the things that rammed the neck (from the USA and Russia).”
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said Trump’s decision to open talks, is a “strong signal that we will try to solve problems through the dialogue and talk about peace instead of war”, in comments that of State TV am On Sunday were broadcast.
The European leaders in Paris will discuss ideas, including a possible use of European troops in Ukraine, which would be stationed as a “reassurance” and would not be stationed on a future ceasefire line, said two civil servants.
However, there is uncertainty about what role the United States would play to ensure NATO forces security in Ukraine. The Trump team has excluded to use American troops to Ukraine, but European officials say that the United States has not excluded the opportunity to offer external support for the use by NATO allies.
Many European governments are also restless when they react to a US UN Inquiry This week for specific details about weapons, money and peace troops that they would send to Ukraine after the conflicts, according to several officials who were informed about the discussions between the capitals.
“The general feeling is that this is a good exercise to think about what everyone can offer, but that the response to the USA should be collective,” said one of the officials.
Stubb said: “I hope that everything that comes out of Paris is something that appeals to the Americans so that we can have more skin in the game.”
The European leaders and diplomats spent a large part of their time at the Munich Security Conference at the weekend and tried to suppress the roles of the various members of Trump’s trial team and how they could ultimately shape the president’s approach.
A high-ranking European official said it was with Keith Kellogg, the 80-year-old general, who was appointed Trump’s Ukraine-envoy, who described Russia as an “enemy”.
However, the official warned that the views of Kellogg, who was not called as a member of the four-man negotiation team by Trump, was not necessarily falsified by Rubio, for example: “Who may not see it that way”.
In a meeting of G7 external ministers in Munich, Rubio was much less imminent with his views on Ukraine, said three people who were informed about the discussions. Two said he found that the talks with Lavrov focus on logistics and planning of a Putin Trump meeting and would not deal with details of the negotiation positions.
“With the previous administration (under Joe Biden) there was no dialogue, just endless war,” said Peskov on Sunday. Trump’s attitude “should be a right -wing person or a state more impressive,” he added.
Peskov also said that Russia would “defend his interests in order not to be seduced by false promises during the talks with the United States.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Munich, Leila Abboud in Paris and Lucy Fisher in London
