This Thursday, EU foreign ministers become the opening act for leaders, who face a European Council summit next Thursday that will be decisive for Ukraine’s future. In preview, ministers will support Volodimir Zelensky at informal meeting in Lvivalmost closing the diplomatic year around kyiv and at a time of new tensions with the United States due to peace negotiations. On the table, economic and military aid to the invaded country but also the prospects of joining the community bloc. For now, Hungary calls meeting a ‘political spectacle’. Janos Boka, Minister of European Affairs of the Magyar country, considers that this is a “new theatrical representation of the pro-war elite in Brussels”.
The elephant in the European space remains the use of frozen Russian assets. Community sources consulted by 20 minutesIn fact, they are already warning that next week’s leaders’ conclave could be extended for up to three days even in the absence of a deal, although the Commission’s proposal can be adopted by qualified majority. The President of the European Council has already confirmed this, while hoping for a faster agreement. The main disadvantages are still in Belgium, which hosts 62% of these funds: The idea is that responsibility is distributed among the 27 to “share the risks” and that the 90 billion that Brussels wants to allocate to Ukraine can be reached.
The alternative, which foreign ministers will also comment on, involves a joint debt issue, which is also not very popular in some capitals. However, among the heads of diplomacy, we will talk about the progress of the peace negotiations, and there the voices coincide and follow the line of Costa himself, for example, or of the High Representative, Kaja Kallas. “When we speak of peace, we refer to peace, not just the cessation of hostilities, not just a truce, but a just and lasting peace that guarantees security the future of Ukraine and also the future security of Europe,” the Portuguese leader said on Tuesday.
“That is why we are committed to supporting Ukrainian negotiators in these negotiations. Only Ukraine can make decisions as a sovereign state and we must respect that.Kallas, for his part, has continued to insist in recent days that Europe must be a direct part of the U.S.’s negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, beyond the Trump administration’s growing tensions over the EU’s role. Along with Trump himself, the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom addressed the issue on Wednesday. from London.
At the same time, the Ukrainian president assured that contacts with his partners were daily and that he was already preparing a final response to Trump’s 20-point plan. “We continue to maintain communication with all our partners on a daily basis, virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to identify concrete measures and realistic to end the war. “Everything must be reliable and worthy of Ukraine,” he said. “We hope to deliver this document to the United States in the near future, following our joint work with President Trump’s team and our partners in Europe.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, is not entering into hand-to-hand combat with Trump. In fact, he assures that he is “ready and willing” to hold elections in Ukraine as long as optimal security conditions exist amid the Russian invasion. It was his response to United States President Donald Trump, who warned that “it’s time” to hold elections in the country. “I have the will and the disposition to do it”said Zelensky, who also asked Ukrainian MPs to present proposals to be able to celebrate the vote under martial law, which is not currently possible. The objective is that, according to the first calculations, within 60 or 90 days, or in two or three months.
Volodimir Zelensky won the last elections in 2019, but with the war against Russia they no longer took place, and it seems that Trump is insisting on it almost as a condition. “They are using war to avoid holding elections, but I think Ukrainians should have this possibility. Maybe Zelensky would win. “I don’t know who would win, but it’s been a long time since they had an election,” the US president commented. The Ukrainian leader, for his part, simply stressed the need for “security guarantees” from the EU and Washington so that the elections could take place in complete freedom.
From the United States, the message remains very harsh towards Europe. The latest “blows” came in the form of Trump’s interview in Politico, where he assured that wants a “strong” Europe but the continent is now weak because its leaders are “destroying” it with their immigration policies. He also affirmed that these heads of state and government “are very politically correct”. He directly pointed the finger at Angela Merkel, who he said made “two big mistakes: migration and energy”, over Germany’s decades-long dependence on Russian gas.
“I must lead the United States, not Europe,” he assured, emphasizing the idea that Ukraine is not his war; However, Washington assumes that only they can mediate between Putin and Zelensky, even if the US president kyiv warned that Moscow “always had the advantage on the ground”, in a sort of implicit warning to continue talking about territorial transfers. Likewise, Trump believes that Europe made a mistake in its management of the conflict.
Among all these warnings, Zelensky decided this Wednesday to also focus on China. He believes Russia is granting China access to invaded areas rich in rare earths in Ukraine.. “I have instructed foreign intelligence services to more thoroughly monitor cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, in all aspects related to Ukraine’s national interests, as well as in all aspects related to the interests of our partners in Europe and the United States. Global security must not be compromised, as Russia’s appetite for aggression remains intact,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media.
In this context, Russia is not moving. Moscow considers Trump “the only Western leader” who “understands the roots of the crisis” in Ukraine and the current situation in the country. This was expressed on Wednesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who also warned that the Kremlin would react “energetically” if the Europeans deployed troops on Ukrainian territory. “America is growing impatient, especially Trumpwho, as I said, is the only one who seems to understand. And this story is now reaching its climax,” Lavrov added.
Furthermore, he criticized the fact that Europe believes, he said, that she is “above all standards” and this is where her current poor external image comes from.detained. “That is why Trump and his partners are talking more and more about the deep crisis that the EU is going through and the idea that it is going in the wrong direction,” commented Lavrov, who believes that the EU “has become blinded in its desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. They cannot imagine a situation in which they will have to swallow defeat, but that is clearly their problem.” At the same time, he stressed that Moscow was not looking for a war with Europe, but was ready if one came. “This idea has not crossed our minds, but we will respond to any hostile act”. In summary, Russia considers Trump’s plan “consistent.” “Sustainable, guaranteed and long-term peace, achieved through the signing of relevant documents, is a top priority,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.
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