Europe is working on its own format for peace talks on Ukraine amid concerns over Trump - NYT
Kyiv • UNN
France, Germany and Britain are coordinating efforts to ensure Europe’s participation in future negotiations. They are concerned about possible exclusion from the dialogue by the Trump administration.
Three European countries, concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump will exclude them from any negotiations on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, are working together to ensure Europe has a place at the negotiating table, according to five European officials, The New York Times reports, writes UNN.
Details
The European diplomats cited "are working on a format for future negotiations to protect European interests, to be led by France, Germany and the United Kingdom."
France and Germany are taking the lead in developing a European position, according to two senior European diplomats and a senior European official who are following the efforts. The United Kingdom, which has a new prime minister, is hesitant, partly because it is nervous about testing its relationship with Trump, the diplomats said.
As the publication writes, there are few signs that Kremlin head Vladimir Putin is ready for serious negotiations. Europeans expect any talks with Russia on Ukraine to be led by the United States, and against the backdrop of Russia intensifying its missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians, they are insisting that Trump and his envoys resume cooperation with Moscow, the publication notes.
But a settlement in Ukraine and relations with Russia are too important to Europe to be handed over indefinitely to the Trump administration, which appears increasingly unpredictable, officials said. They want to ensure that Washington and Moscow do not strike any deal over their heads.
Western officials and analysts expect the war to become more destructive, the publication writes. Some expect Putin to order a modest, though unpopular, mobilization of new troops, but only after the parliamentary elections in mid-September. And some even fear that Putin, feeling cornered, may try to escalate the war and test NATO solidarity by going beyond hybrid attacks in Europe.
"Putin has said that Russia must at least gain full control of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. If the Russians are unable to do this by the fall of 2027, officials and analysts say, negotiations will become more likely. And key decisions must be made in advance," the publication says.
Asked for comment, the United Kingdom's Foreign Office said that the discussion was speculative, while an EU official insisted that the various diplomatic efforts were complementary rather than competing, and that the contentious debate over representation was not useful at this stage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "wants Europe to be at the negotiating table," said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
The 27-member European Union, which has adopted 21 packages of sanctions against Russia and controls most of Russia's frozen assets, must play its role. Both issues will be central to any diplomatic resolution, the publication indicates.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany believe they should be the main negotiators in support of Ukraine, three European officials said. These three countries, known as the "E3," are at the heart of the "coalition of the willing" supporting Ukraine and have developed options for military guarantees and security guarantees for the country after a settlement.
Poland, Italy and the Nordic countries should also be consulted, and the European Union should be kept informed and involved later, officials said, as some smaller countries, especially those bordering Russia and Ukraine, such as the Baltic states and Hungary, do not fully trust Germany and France to represent their interests.
A series of meetings and debates on the issue took place in June, as Zelenskyy insisted on preparing for talks with Russia and the United States.
Zelensky, as noted, appealed to the United Kingdom, France and Germany and met with their leaders in London on June 7 to discuss Europe’s role in future negotiations with Russia and to establish the principles of any agreement. Four days later, it is reported, the ambassadors of the three European countries held an unusual meeting in Moscow with Mikhail Galuzin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister responsible for Ukraine.
Kaja Kallas, head of the EU’s foreign policy office, noted Zelensky’s appeal to the United Kingdom, France and Germany and said that the three countries respect the “fundamental European security interests,” including sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Russian assets. She said it was too early to draw final conclusions about representation, but that these fundamental interests had to be taken into account.
After that, the European Union took some preliminary steps to open channels of communication with Russia. António Costa’s chief of staff, Pedro Lourtie, spoke with Russian officials, including Yuri Ushakov, who had been US envoy Steve Witkoff’s main Russian contact, in an attempt to open a diplomatic channel.
“We cannot rely solely on others to interpret Russian messages, and we must be able to convey our own messages directly to Russia,” Costa said after the European meeting on June 19. But he acknowledged that there had been no “convincing signs” from Moscow that it wanted to engage in “serious negotiations at this point.”
In both cases, Russia’s official response was “dismissive”; Galuzin complained that the three countries were “pushing Ukraine to continue the war against Russia,” the publication notes.
Inevitably, the publication writes, Costa’s initiative provoked divisions: France and Germany criticized him for overstepping, Austria and Belgium supported him, while the Baltic countries rejected any approach to Moscow, viewing it as playing into Russia’s hands.
French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, said that “when negotiations take place, Europeans will have to be at the negotiating table,” and that “President Costa, within the remit defined for him, will have his place.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that the three countries were acting “at Ukraine’s direct request.” He added: “This also creates a certain internal logic for the United Kingdom, Germany and France to cooperate closely here; they are major European powers, and they also make a significant contribution to military support for Ukraine.”
As for who would speak on behalf of the European Union, he said: “We will decide that when negotiations take place.”
Given Putin’s lack of interest, Europeans have succumbed to wishful thinking, said Norbert Röttgen, a German lawmaker and security expert. “At some point, Europe has to be present, because European security is at stake and Washington no longer regards it as a vital American interest,” he said.
“But for now,” Röttgen continued, “Putin sees an advantage in trying to divide the West and manage Europe through Washington.”
Others believe that a European approach to Russia is long overdue. The stakes are so high that Europe’s lack of direct channels of communication with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 “is almost a criminal dereliction of duty,” said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.
Hans-Dieter Lucas, a former German diplomat who served as ambassador to NATO, France and Italy, said that the multinational negotiations with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal, which he helped broker, contain lessons.
“We cannot fall behind, as happened” in November 2025, when Trump and Witkoff developed their 28-point “peace plan” with Moscow, he said. “The Europeans have cards, but we need to play them wisely,” he noted.
Nevertheless, Lucas said: "We will need very close cooperation and coordination with the United States, otherwise the Russians will drive a wedge between us." And here, he added, "we return to the fundamental question concerning Trump and transatlantic relations."