European leaders hold summit to mull Trump plans on Ukraine war

Credit: dpa/NAN

European leaders are gathering on Monday for a special summit to discuss plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine.

Leaders from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark are expected to attend the informal meeting in Paris.

The meeting would hold alongside European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Élysée Palace said.
French President Emmanuel Macron set up the meeting to initiate consultations on the situation in Ukraine and the challenges for security in Europe.

The aim is to bring together all partners interested in peace and security in Europe, with the meeting organised at short notice during the Munich Security Conference.
EU countries and Ukraine fear the U.S. and Russia may seek a peace solution bilaterally, after U.S. President Donald Trump declared his determination to end the conflict.

Europe and Ukraine insist they should be part of peace talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said both Ukraine and Europe should be involved in negotiations.
Beyond that, European leaders in Paris would discuss a broader strategy in relation to the new U.S. administration after a series of demands and criticisms from Washington.

Diplomats have said the question of what Europe can contribute to a possible peace deal would also be discussed, after the U.S. called on Europeans to contribute more.

The Paris meeting comes the same week as Rubio is due to meet Russian representatives together with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Saudi Arabia.

Neither representatives of Ukraine nor the Europeans would be at the table during the talks in Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously said on U.S. television that he would not accept any peace solution in which Ukraine had not participated.