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The European Union made their position on President Donald Trump’s “land swapping” push clear following a ministerial powwow on Monday, and told Fox News Digital, there should be no “concessions” until Russia agrees to stop its war.
“Russia has not agreed to full and unconditional ceasefire, we should not even discuss any concessions,” EU policy chief Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “It has never worked in the past with Russia, and will not work with Putin today.
“The sequencing of the steps is important,” she added. “First an unconditional ceasefire with a strong monitoring system and ironclad security guarantees.”
Kallas called for a virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers — as well as Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha who debriefed the officials on “ongoing diplomatic efforts and the battlefield situation” on Monday — following the announcement of the upcoming meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin set for Friday in Alaska.
While the talks on Monday addressed additional sanctions against Russia, more military aid for Ukraine and more monetary support for Kyiv, they also coincided with comments made by Trump that struck a critical note of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
European leaders have yet to respond directly to Trump’s reproving tone ahead of his meeting with Putin on Friday, though Kallas’ comments made clear neither the EU nor Ukraine support Trump’s most recent proposal that Ukraine and Russia “swap” borders.
“We fully support an end to this war in a way that doesn’t leave a backdoor open for Russia to re-enter and restart its aggression,” she said. “Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign nation is under attack, as well as the security of our European continent.”
SUMMIT WITH PUTIN SET TO TOP TRUMP’S AGENDA THIS WEEK AS UKRAINE WAR TAKES CENTER STAGE
Details of Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin remain relatively unknown, though European officials are keen to remind both leaders of the need to involve them and Kyiv in the high-level talks.
“The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously,” Kallas told Fox News Digital. “Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security.”
Kallas has remained steadfast in her determination that any negotiations on Ukraine must include Europe as the continent stares down its most significant threat since World War II.
But it is not only Europe’s involvement in any security negotiations that EU leaders are looking to remind Trump of, but Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.
“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” Kallas said. “A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded.”
European leaders over the weekend from the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the EU issued a statement affirming that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy risked Trump’s ire and looked to set the record straight on Saturday after the U.S. president suggested on Friday that Ukraine and Russia may “swap” territory.
ZELENSKYY THANKS NATO, EUROPEAN LEADERS FOR BACKING HIS PUSH TO JOIN TRUMP‑PUTIN SUMMIT
“You are looking at territory that has been fought over for 3.5 years,” Trump told reporters from the White House in reference to land Russia has illegally invaded and occupied in eastern Ukraine. “We’re looking at that. But we’re looking at swapping. We’re going to get some back.”
Zelenskyy responded by confirming that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
“Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine — they are simultaneously decisions against peace,” he added. “These are dead decisions; they will never work. And what we all need is a real, living peace, one that people will respect.”
In her comments to Fox News Digital, Kallas looked to remind Trump that Putin’s interests lay outside a mere land grab in Ukraine — it is an existential threat to the European continent.
“Russia’s war aims are more than just seizing territory in Ukraine,” she said. “Russia started this war to destroy Ukraine and Europe’s security.
“A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe,” she added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Trump, Zelenskyy, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for another virtual meeting on Wednesday with other European leaders ahead of Trump’s top talks, reports confirmed on Monday.
Trump on Monday reiterated his goal that first he will meet with Putin, and then Zelenskyy will meet with Putin, with or without the U.S. president, to secure a ceasefire.
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