FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The virtual summit between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders has ended.
European leaders hope that today's discussions have shaped Trump's view ahead of his meeting Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his remarks after the virtual summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said "major decisions" could be made during the summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
"Therefore, we Europeans are doing everything we can to lay the groundwork to ensure that this meeting goes on the right track. We want President Trump to succeed on Friday in Anchorage," Merz said, speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also repeated his call for Ukraine to be at the negotiating table and said a ceasefire must come first in any agreement.
"We made it clear that Ukraine should be at the negotiating table at the next meeting. We want things to go in the right sequence: We want a ceasefire from the start and then a framework agreement should be drawn up. If Ukraine is prepared to talk about territorial negotiations, then we need to make sure that there are no violent changes on the border. We need strong security guarantees for Kiev and there should be Ukrainian forces there to defend the country's sovereignty, and they should also be able to rely on Western help for this," Merz said.
But what does Europe want?
The prospect of US President Donald Trump sitting alone in a room with Vladimir Putin has irritated Europeans.
Trump has recently signaled support for Ukraine, but European leaders fear that Putin, a former KGB spy, will be able to turn the American president back to his way of seeing things.
Since Friday's summit in Alaska was announced, European leaders have been desperate to get Trump's attention, and they are asking for three things.
-First , that Russia must agree to a ceasefire before discussing territorial issues. Ukraine and its European allies have long argued that Russia cannot be taken seriously in peace negotiations while its bombs fall daily on Ukrainian cities and its troops try to seize more land.
-Secondly , that no decision on Ukraine can be made without Ukraine. The concern is that, by not being at the table, Ukraine will be on the menu, as the old saying goes. Europe has strongly emphasized that no solution can be reached without Kiev's participation.
-Third, that Ukraine will not accept land swaps. Although there is confusion about Putin’s reported terms for stopping his war in Ukraine, most versions of these reports claim that he will demand that Ukraine withdraw from all parts of the eastern Donetsk region that it still holds, potentially in exchange for a Russian withdrawal from other regions. Russia’s reward at the negotiating table with Ukrainian land that it could not win by force is anathema to Kiev and Europe.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump said he would take Europe's ideas so that, when he meets with Putin in Alaska, he would "consider it thoroughly." Europe will be hoping he stays true to his word.
Lini një Përgjigje