Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with US President Donald Trump for the first time since Trump’s second term, sparking a wave of reactions from European leaders. Several European foreign ministers are urging the EU and European countries not to be excluded from the peace talks. Top diplomats are warning that the negotiations, which could decide the future of Eastern Europe, must also include Ukraine.
Politico asked several leading European politicians for their opinions. “Peace can only be achieved together. And that means with Ukraine and the Europeans” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “We must take this path together, so that peace returns to Europe.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s representation in all peace talks. “The representation of Ukraine in all peace talks is of crucial importance.” Any talks must include Kiev, but “to achieve a successful peace agreement, Russia must be weakened on the battlefield” she added. Russia’s politics, economy and religion, as well as the media and private sector, are all geared towards war, she said. “Therefore, Russia must be forced to peace.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also reacted to the phone call between Putin and Trump. On X, he wrote, “What we need is peace. A just peace. We should work together on that, Ukraine, Europe and the United States.”
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Poland, the UK, Spain and Italy, after consultations with the EU’s foreign affairs chief and Ukraine’s foreign minister, called for European participation in the peace talks. “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations” the joint statement read, adding that the talks should aim to secure the interests of Europe and Ukraine.
The chiefs of diplomacy from the mentioned European countries also expressed their hope for the negotiations with Washington, stating that the common goal should be to “put Ukraine in a position of strength.” “We remind that the security of the European continent is in our shared responsibility” the statement read.
According to Bloomberg, the European representatives were not informed in advance about the upcoming phone call between Putin and Trump. Two European officials told Bloomberg that important US allies in Europe had not been informed and were shocked by the event. Another Ukraine supporter compared Trump’s actions to a betrayal, saying the US had given in to Putin’s main demands before the talks even began.
On Wednesday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov announced that the phone call had lasted an hour and a half. Putin and Trump had agreed to organize a personal meeting, with Putin inviting Trump to visit Moscow and expressing his willingness to receive US officials in Russia, including on the topic of resolving the Ukraine conflict. However, no timeline was given for when this could happen.
Trump shared on Truth Social that he and Putin had “agreed that our teams will start working immediately.” Shortly after the call with Putin, Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to inform him about the talks. Zelensky later confirmed the phone call on X, saying, “We discussed possibilities of achieving peace and our willingness to work together at the team level.”
European officials had long feared that Trump’s long-standing friendly personal relationship with Putin could lead to Europe being excluded from high-level discussions about the continent’s future, as reported by Politico. The magazine notes that Trump had described Putin’s decision to start a military special operation as “genius” and “smart.