Top EU officials are pressing Washington to resist a “one-sided” territorial swap with Russia in Ukraine peace talks, warning Donald Trump ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin that any deal must start from the current frontlines and include security guarantees for Kyiv.
“The Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap”, said a senior European Commission official on Sunday. Rather than land, “security guarantees are of the utmost importance for Ukraine”, the official added.
In an overnight statement, several EU leaders urged the US to be wary of giving away too much land during an announced summit between Trump and Putin set to take place in Alaska on Friday.
The Kremlin says Ukraine should withdraw entirely from eastern regions which it only partially occupies.
“There will be some swapping of territories”, Trump said on Friday. The talks over a negotiated settlement for the war are set to go ahead without the inclusion of Ukrainian or EU leaders.
The Commission official said any accord must include the “most robust security guarantee” which would entail that there are “no limitations on [Ukraine’s] armed forces and third countries support”.
Increasingly, there are signs that Washington is coming around. “The US administration has been very involved and has shown interest in aligning positioning with Europe”, the Commission official cautioned.
The bloc’s foreign ministers are due to convene by videoconference on Monday.
“Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included”, said the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, in a statement on Sunday. “A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe.”
But it was the US which “has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously”, she said.
In an interview with Fox News, recorded on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance suggested a “negotiated settlement” would be based on “where the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine is” – matching the EU line.
(jp)
UPDATE: This story was updated with a statement to press from Kaja Kallas.
