France yesterday said it would host a summit of European leaders today to discuss the Ukraine war and European security as the continent scrambles to respond to US President Donald Trump’s unilateral approach to the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron would “convene the main European countries to discuss European security,” French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio, adding that the meeting would be a working session that should not be “over-dramatised.”
Six European diplomats said invites had gone at least to the UK, Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark — which would represent Baltic and Scandinavian countries — the EU leadership and the NATO Secretary-General.
Photo: EPA-EFE
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa were also invited, the people said.
They said the meeting aimed to see what immediate help can be given to Ukraine, what concrete role Europe can play in providing security guarantees for Kyiv as well as how to strengthen Europe’s collective security.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to attend, his Social Democratic Party said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also expected to join.
“The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together,” Starmer said on Saturday. “We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk would attend the meeting, and urged leaders to show strength and unity.
Scholz on Saturday said the US and Europe must make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that their support for Ukraine would not flag.
“My plea is that there should be first a message to Putin that Europe and the US will continue with their support to Ukraine, because he has to understand that he cannot hope that we stop our support,” Scholz said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on Friday met with Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Asked if Europe should be at the negotiating table with the US, Russia and Ukraine, Kellogg on Saturday said that “in the school of realism, I think that’s not going to happen.”
He added that he wants to get a clear sense of Europe’s position so that it is well-stated in negotiations.
“That may grate a little bit, but I’m telling you something that’s really quite honest,” he said.
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