Alaska summit: Europe allies urge Trump not to deal with Putin without Ukraine
By: Stuart Lau (BBC News)
How's that kickin' Putin butt thing working out for y'all? The Alaska 'Summit' highlights the simple fact that the United States shares a border with Russia, not with Europe.
Europe remains as unified against the United States as ever. Europeans expect the United States to pay for everything, fight all the wars on their behalf, and then place European interests above the interests of the United States. And we're supposed to believe Vladimir Putin is our enemy?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
European allies have rallied behind Ukraine in a renewed surge of support, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include Kyiv.
A joint statement issued by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission came ahead of US President Donald Trump's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
A White House official has said that Trump is willing to hold a trilateral meeting which would also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but, for now, it remains a Trump-Putin summit, as initially requested by the Russian leader.
Zelensky has said any agreements without Kyiv will amount to "dead decisions".
Trump has previously suggested that he could start by meeting only with Putin, telling reporters he planned to "start off with Russia." But the US president also said that he believed "we have a shot at" organising a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelensky.
Whether Putin would agree to this is unclear - he has refused several opportunities to hold direct talks, and the two leaders have not met face-to-face since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
Speaking on Friday, Trump also suggested that there "will be some swapping of territories" in order for Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement - to which Zelensky reacted strongly.
"We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated," he said on Telegram. "Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace."
"The Russians... still impose the idea of 'exchanging' Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing but more convenient positions for the Russians to resume the war," he added defiantly.
CBS, the BBC's US media partner, has reported that the White House is trying to sway European allies to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and keeping the Crimean Peninsula.
The European leaders, in their statement released late on Saturday night, stressed that "international borders must not be changed by force".
"Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny," they said, stressing that their nations would continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily and financially.
The leaders also said that a "diplomatic solution" is critical, not just to protect Ukraine - but also Europe's security.
It's not just Ukraine that is struggling to be part of the Alaska meeting.
European allies are also worried about their lack of influence over the outcome of any agreement that Trump could reach with Putin.
In a post on X on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron raised concerns about Russia and the US excluding European involvement.
"Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake," he wrote.
On Sunday, Zelensky thanked the allies for their support.
"The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations," he said.
Europe has taken a tough approach to Moscow - including imposing sanctions against Russian entities and providing military aid for Ukraine.
Zelensky said he told Macron in a phone call on Saturday that the key was to make sure "the Russians do not get to deceive anyone again".
"We all need a genuine end to the war and reliable security foundations for Ukraine and other European nations," the Ukrainian leader said.
US diplomacy with Europe and Ukraine fell to Vice-President JD Vance on Saturday, when he visited the UK and held talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy as well as two of Zelensky's top aides.
Thanking Vance for the discussions, Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, stressed the need for Ukraine to be included.
"A reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table," he said. "A ceasefire is necessary - but the frontline is not a border."
The summit in Alaska, the territory which Russia sold to the US in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents, since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.
Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - despite not having full control over them.
Moscow has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion, but occupies large swathes of Ukraine's eastern territory. Ukrainian offensives, meanwhile, have not been able to push the Russian forces back.
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Zelensky is playing all sides to the middle -- in Soviet fashion. Zelensky even played President Joe Biden; leading him by the nose deeper into the quagmire.
Russia isn't going to allow the US to escape the quagmire. Ukraine isn't going to allow the US to escape the quagmire. Europe isn't going to allow the US to walk away, either. And what does the United States get out of this mess?
1 less enemy with no USSR v2.0?
Putin doesn't want to return to the USSR. Only ignorant neocons chase that bogeyman. Lenin's tomb is hidden during public events nowadays. And nobody is singing the praises of communism in Red Square.
Besides the United States would still be stuck with the European parasites so defeating Russia wouldn't really be a victory. And what would the US do with a defeated Russia, anyway? Europe would be constantly nagging the US about what to do with Russia. Kicking Russia out of Ukraine won't do much for the US.
I never said the Russian citizens wanted the return of the USSR. Just Putin and his flunkies.
Restoration of empire is the endgame for Russia’s Vladimir Putin
And I specifically pointed out that Putin and his flunkies do not want a return to the USSR. Your link says Putin wants a return to Imperial Russia and not a return to the USSR. Your 3 year old link only confirms what I said.
Ahhh, so you're banking your entire argument on semantics. Okey dokey.
per Gallup, most Ukrainians want a settlement.
Everybody in the world want a settlement. Sticky point is in the details. Russia has already said that they'd settle if Ukraine gifted them with a chunk of their country, Ukraine is unwilling of course.
a settlement necessarily implies loss of territory.
What are Zelensky and Putin going to do with the Ukrainian separatists? The separatists fought for eight years before the Russian special military action that invaded Ukraine.
Ukraine was fighting a civil war before Russia invaded. There are three parties involved in arriving at a settlement. Is Zelensky willing to grant Donetsk and Luhansk autonomy? Are the separatists going to give up Mariupol and the Sea of Azov? Or will Zelensky call for reprisals against eastern Ukrainians?
Why would kicking Russia out of Ukraine end the war?
So what's Russia going to give up?
You understand that the war started with Russia invading Ukraine with no provocation......don't you??? Ending the war necessitates kicking Russia out.