US President Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine
\n PARIS
\nPresident Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France and its allies agreed Ukraine\u2019s rights and European security concerns should be taken into account in any deal to end the war with Russia, before he heads to Washington next week.
\n\u201cThe position of France and its allies is clear and united. We wish for peace in Ukraine that is lasting,\u201d Macron said on X after a meeting with the leaders of 19 mostly European countries, with most taking part by video link.
\nUS President Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, over the heads of both European countries and Kyiv.
\nMacron held the meeting on Ukraine Wednesday afternoon in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he has called an \u201cexistential threat\u201d from Russia after the shock US policy shift.
\n\u201cWe stand by Ukraine and will carry out all our responsibilities to ensure peace and security in Europe,\u201d Macron said after the video conference.
\nBut he said participants, which included the leaders of EU nations as well as Iceland, Norway and Canada, stressed Ukraine should be included and \u201cits rights respected\u201d in the process.
\nThey said \u201crobust and credible guarantees\u201d were needed to ensure a lasting deal, and \u201cEuropean security concerns\u201d must be taken into account.
\n\u201cWe are convinced of the need to increase our defense and security spending and capacities for Europe and each of our countries,\u201d Macron added.
\nMacron is set to meet Trump in Washington as early as Monday, Trump told reporters aboard his plane on Wednesday.
\nA White House official previously told AFP the meeting would take place \u201cearly next week,\u201d on condition of anonymity.
\nUkraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet US envoy Keith Kellogg on Thursday and that he hopes for \u201cconstructive\u201d work with the United States, after Trump lashed out against him on social media.
\nTrump on Wednesday called Zelensky a \u201cdictator,\u201d after a day earlier accusing Kyiv of having \u201cstarted\u201d the war, sparking pushback from even some members of his own Republican party.
\nFrance has been one of Ukraine\u2019s main Western backers since Russia began its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
\nMacron on Monday hosted key European leaders including from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands, as well as NATO and EU chiefs for emergency talks, but several smaller European countries including Romania and the Czech Republic were reportedly aghast at not having been invited.
\nRomania\u2019s interim president Ilie Bolojan and Luxembourg\u2019s Prime Minister Luc Frieden were present in person at the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the French presidency said.
\nThe leaders of Lithuania, Cyprus, Finland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia and the Czech Republic meanwhile joined via video conference call.
\nHungary and Slovakia, whose prime ministers are seen as close to Putin, as well as NATO member Turkiye, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eager to act as a mediator, were not on the list of participants.
\n\u201cRussia poses an existential threat to Europeans,\u201d Macron said in an interview with French regional newspapers published on Tuesday.
\n\u201cDo not think that the unthinkable cannot happen, including the worst.\u201d
\nMacron appeared open to the idea of sending forces to Ukraine but emphasized that this could take place only in the most limited fashion and away from the front lines.
\nFrance, along with Britain, was considering sending \u201cexperts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone,\u201d he said.
\nForeign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France may have to make some difficult choices.
\n\u201cRussia has decided to make enemies of us, and we must open our eyes, realize the scale of the threat and protect ourselves,\u201d he told broadcaster RTL.
\n\u201cIf we do nothing, if we remain blind to the threat, the front line will move ever closer to our borders.\u201d
\nHe said earlier that only the Europeans could provide the guarantees necessary to ensure long-lasting \u201cpeace\u201d in Ukraine.
\nTo keep up the pressure on Moscow, EU countries on Wednesday agreed a new round of sanctions on Russia, diplomats said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US President Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine PARIS President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France and its allies agreed Ukraine\u2019s rights and European security concerns should be taken into account in any deal to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-462819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n