Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he would work with Europe to set the terms of a possible peace deal to be presented to the United States. The emergency weekend talks brought together 18 allied nations, facing uncertain US support and at a critical moment in the face of Russia’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.
European leaders have rallied in support of Kiev after US President Donald Trump’s pressure on Zelenskyy in front of reporters at the White House a few days ago raised suspicions that Trump wanted to force Kiev into a peace deal.
Zelensky said the summit, which began on Sunday, had strengthened their commitment to working towards peace. “We need peace, not endless war,” he wrote on Telegram, a social media platform widely used by Ukrainians.
“In the near future, we European leaders will discuss the lines we must achieve for a ceasefire and the lines we cannot compromise on, and determine the minimum conditions for negotiations and shape our common position.”
“These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States,” he said. Asked about setting minimum conditions for peace talks, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain, France and other countries would work on a plan to stop the war with Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who returned from the summit, told Le Figaro newspaper that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial ceasefire for a month “in the air, sea and energy infrastructure.”
Starmer and Macron have said they are ready to deploy British and French troops to maintain any ceasefire in Ukraine. “With no guarantee of American involvement, ‘Europe must bear the burden,'” Starmer said.
