By Christian Edwards, Helen Regan and Michael Rios, CNN
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the Saudi-French Business Forum during an official visit in Riyadh on December 3, 2024. Photo: AFP / POOL / JEANNE ACCORSINI
Reeling from shocks delivered by the Trump administration last week, European leaders are holding emergency talks in Paris to plan a response, as US and Russian officials are set to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Ukraine, without European or Ukrainian involvement.
Aside from a brief call Monday between French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump, European leaders have been sidelined at the start of a pivotal week for the continent's security.
Instead, the focus will be on US-Russia talks in Riyadh, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio will sit down on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said the discussion will aim to end the "abnormal period" in relations between the two "great powers."
The talks could lay the ground for a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Faced with the prospect of a diminished US footprint in Europe, the European leaders' meeting is expected to centre on the potential deployment of European troops to Ukraine to keep the peace after a negotiated settlement.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called the Paris meeting a "one in a generation" moment for the continent's national security, wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he was "ready and willing" to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal if necessary.
Whether other European leaders are willing is not yet clear.
Over three years of war in Ukraine, Europe and the United States had remained remarkably united in their stance towards Russia. But just over three weeks into Trump's second presidency, much of that unity had unravelled.
The Trump administration delivered a series of blows to Europe and Ukraine last week.
First, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that NATO membership for Ukraine was not a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement, and that European security was no longer a priority for the US.
Then, Trump held a long phone call with Putin, effectively ending the Western policy of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."
Then Vice President JD Vance turned on European leaders in a blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, lambasting them for alleged crackdowns on free speech.
"The threat that I worry most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia," Vance told a stone-faced audience.
"What I worry about is the threat from within."
Vice President Vance scolded European leaders for "running in fear" of voters on the continent. Photo: AFP/ DPA - Peter Kneffel
Senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Nigel Gould-Davies said the flurry of statements from the Trump administration had plunged Europe into "uncharted territory."
In making concessions to the Kremlin before negotiations had begun, Gould-Davies said the Trump administration was showing "undue haste" that could create openings for Putin.
"If you are negotiating and you are showing that you're the one that wants to get this done as quickly as possible. That puts you in a weaker position. There's a lot for Putin to exploit," he told CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would not participate in the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, despite being in the country for separate meetings.
He said any discussions "about Ukraine without Ukraine" would not bear fruit, and that Kyiv would reject a deal negotiated without Kyiv's involvement.
Zelensky did, however, signal his openness to sign a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, if Washington provided security guarantees to Kyiv in return.
"The question is not what Ukraine can give, but what can Ukraine get?" Zelensky said Monday.
After rejecting the Trump administration's initial approach over the weekend, Zelensky said he would welcome a "more detailed plan."
Zelensky also confirmed that Keith Kellogg, Trump's Russia-Ukraine envoy, was expected to visit Ukraine on Thursday.
Zelensky said he hoped to take Kellogg to meet soldiers on the front-line "so that he can see it at their level."
Zelensky meets with Vance and Rubio in Munich, Germany, on February 14. Photo: AFP/TOBIAS SCHWARZ
But the bulk of the Trump administration's diplomacy would be conducted in the Middle East, where Rubio will be joined in Riyadh by national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the State Department confirmed.
The Kremlin said Lavrov would be joined by presidential aide Yury Ushakov.
Rubio framed the talks as an attempt to determine whether Russia was serious about ending its war in Ukraine.
Lavrov, however, signalled loftier goals, saying Trump and Putin "agreed on the need to leave behind an absolutely abnormal period in the relations between the two great powers."
Asked by CNN whether Russia was willing to make compromises, Lavrov suggested it would take a hardline approach to negotiations.
Meanwhile, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark - as well as top officials from NATO and the European Union - arrived at the Élysée Palace in the French capital for crisis talks late Monday afternoon.
A former UK ambassador to Belarus Gould-Davies said it was a "concern" that Europe would have a limited influence on a negotiated settlement, but would have to live with its consequences.
"It's the Americans alone who are negotiating with Russia. But the Americans are also saying it is Europe alone who will have to enforce and guarantee and pay for any agreement that the Americans make over their heads," he said.
"It's no exaggeration to say this is the most serious crisis that the transatlantic alliance has faced," he added.
- CNN
