European powers, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, stated on the evening of February 12 that they must be part of any future negotiations on Ukraine’s fate, emphasizing that only a fair agreement with security guarantees will ensure lasting peace. This was reported by Voice of America.
"Our shared goals must be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations", - reads a joint statement from seven countries and the European Commission.
"Ukraine must be provided with strong security guarantees. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine is a necessary condition for stable transatlantic security", - the statement continues, also emphasizing that European powers look forward to discussing further actions with their American allies.
The foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain, along with the head of the European Commission, met on Wednesday in Paris with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. The purpose of the meeting, planned several weeks in advance, was to outline the bloc's defense strategy, discuss ways to strengthen Ukraine, plan future peace negotiations, and coordinate their approach to discussions with the U.S. administration at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.
However, the conference’s progress came into question after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made sharp public statements on behalf of the Trump administration regarding the U.S. approach to the nearly three-year war between Ukraine and russia. He stated that returning Ukraine to its 2014 borders is unrealistic and that the U.S. does not consider Kyiv’s NATO membership a viable solution for peace. Hegseth’s comments were followed by a phone call between President Donald Trump and russian president putin, after which Trump announced that their teams had agreed to begin negotiations immediately.
European states were not informed about the phone call in advance and were surprised by the bluntness of Hegseth’s position, diplomats said. When asked whether any European countries would participate in the peace talks, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt responded: "I have no information on any European countries currently participating in the negotiations that I can share with you".