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EU Leaders Want Say in War Meetings    02/18 06:18

   European leaders insisted Monday they must have a say in international talks 
to end the war in Ukraine despite the clear message from both Washington and 
Moscow that there was no role for them as yet in negotiations that could shape 
the future of the continent.

   PARIS (AP) -- European leaders insisted Monday they must have a say in 
international talks to end the war in Ukraine despite the clear message from 
both Washington and Moscow that there was no role for them as yet in 
negotiations that could shape the future of the continent.

   Three hours of emergency talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris left leaders of 
Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, 
NATO and the European Union without a common view on possible peacekeeping 
troops after a U.S. diplomatic blitz on Ukraine last week threw a once-solid 
trans-Atlantic alliance into turmoil.

   U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for U.S. backing while reaffirming 
he's ready to consider sending British forces on the Ukrainian ground alongside 
others "if there is a lasting peace agreement."

   There was a rift though with some EU nations, like Poland, which have said 
they don't want their military imprint on Ukraine soil. French President 
Emmanuel Macron was non-committal.

   European call for working with the US

   Macron said overnight he spoke by phone to U.S. President Donald Trump and 
then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the meeting.

   "We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine," Macron said on the social 
platform X. "To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be 
accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians."

   "We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and 
Ukrainians," he added.

   Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof acknowledged the Europeans "need to come to 
a common conclusion about what we can contribute. And that way we will 
eventually get a seat at the table," adding that "just sitting at the table 
without contributing is pointless."

   Starmer said a trans-Atlantic bond remained essential. "There must be a U.S. 
backstop, because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively 
deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again," he said.

   Top U.S. officials from the Trump administration, on their first visit to 
Europe last week, left the impression that Washington was ready to embrace the 
Kremlin while it cold-shouldered many of its age-old European allies.

   The US to leave Europe out of negotiations

   Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said 
Monday he didn't think it was "reasonable and feasible to have everybody 
sitting at the table."

   "We know how that can turn out and that has been our point, is keeping it 
clean and fast as we can," he told reporters in Brussels, where he briefed the 
31 U.S. allies in NATO, along with EU officials, before heading to Kyiv for 
talks on Wednesday with Zelenskyy.

   His remarks were echoed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was 
equally dismissive about a role for Europe. "I don't know what they have to do 
at the negotiations table," he said as he arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks 
with U.S. officials.

   Last week, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a 
flurry of speeches questioned both Europe's security commitments and its 
fundamental democratic principles.

   Macron, who has long championed a stronger European defense, said their 
stinging rebukes and threats of non-cooperation in the face of military danger 
felt like a shock to the system.

   The tipping point came when Trump decided to upend years of U.S. policy by 
holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the 
Russia-Ukraine war.

   Shortly before the meeting in Paris Monday, Macron spoke with Trump, but 
Macron's office would not disclose details about the 20-minute discussion.

   Europeans stand by their support to Ukraine

   Starmer, who said he will travel to Washington next week to discuss with 
Trump "what we see as the key elements of a lasting peace," appears to be 
charting a "third way" in Europe's shifting geopolitical landscape -- aligning 
strategically with the U.S. administration while maintaining EU ties. Some 
analysts suggest this positioning could allow him to act as a bridge between 
Trump and Europe, potentially serving as a key messenger to the White House.

   German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters a possible peace agreement with 
Russia cannot be forced on Ukraine. "For us, it must and is clear: This does 
not mean that peace can be dictated and that Ukraine must accept what is 
presented to it," he insisted.

   Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez said that any peace agreement would 
need to have the active involvement of the EU and Ukraine, so as to not be a 
false end to the war "as has happened in the past."

   He went on: "What cannot be is that the aggressor is rewarded."

   A strong U.S. component, though, will remain essential for the foreseeable 
future since it will take many years before many European nations can ratchet 
up defense production and integrate it into an effective force.

   Sending troops after a peace deal?

   Highlighting the inconsistencies among many nations about potential troop 
contributions, Scholz said talk of boots on the ground was "premature."

   "This is highly inappropriate, to put it bluntly, and honestly: we don't 
even know what the outcome will be" of any peace negotiation, he added.

   European nations are bent though on boosting their armed forces where they 
can after years of U.S. complaints, and most have increased defense spending to 
2% of gross domestic product, but the path to reaching 3% is unclear.

   "The time has come for a much greater ability of Europe to defend itself," 
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. "There is unanimity here on the issue 
of increasing spending on defense. This is an absolute necessity." Poland 
spends more than 4% of its GDP on defense, more than any other NATO member.

 
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