CAPITALS, 10th August, 2025 (WAM) – European allies have rallied behind Ukraine in a renewed surge of support, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include Kyiv.
It comes as Donald Trump prepares to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," said a joint statement issued by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission.
Concerned that Ukraine will not be invited to its own peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreements without Kyiv would amount to "dead decisions".
The European leaders, in their statement released late on Saturday night, stressed that international borders “must not be changed by force” and said the “current line of contact should be the starting point for any negotiations. “We welcome President Trump's work to stop the killing in Ukraine.”
Late on Saturday, a White House official said that Trump would be willing to hold a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelensky - but for now, it remains just the two of them, as initially requested by the Russian leader.