Trump wants Ukraine to have say on territory talks

BERLIN: US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine must be involved in talks about land in any truce deal with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, suggesting Kyiv and its European allies had got their message across before a superpower summit. The comments were among the first indications of what came out of talks between Trump, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, intended to influence Trump as he prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Trump's insistence on involving Ukraine, if confirmed, could bring a measure of relief to Ukraine and its allies, who have feared that Trump and Putin could reach a deal that sells out Europe's and Ukraine's security interests and proposes to carve up Ukrainian territory. Trump and Putin are due to discuss how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has said both sides will have to swap land to end the fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
On a day of intense diplomacy, Zelensky flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Trump. The Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for almost 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian territory, and emboldening Putin to expand further west into the future. 'The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president,' Macron said.
'There are currently no serious territorial exchange schemes on the table.' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump would prioritise reaching a ceasefire on Friday, adding that there was no question of legally recognising Russia's territorial holdings.
Zelensky said there should be a three-way meeting between himself, Putin and Trump. Merz said Ukraine was prepared to negotiate on territorial issues, but 'legal recognition of Russian occupation is not up for debate'. 'If the United States of America now works towards a peace in Ukraine that safeguards European and Ukrainian interests, he can count on our full support in this endeavour,' Merz said at a joint press conference with Zelensky.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he warned US President Donald Trump ahead of his talks with Vladimir Putin this week that the Russian leader is 'bluffing' about his desire to end the war. 'I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing,' he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 'He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.'
Zelensky's comments, made after a virtual call with Trump and European leaders, come as Russian forces step up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, aiming to force Kyiv to give up land. Zelensky, who said he hoped the main topic of the talks in Alaska would be an immediate ceasefire, added that any discussions regarding territory should be covered during a three-leader meeting. 'Regarding our principles and territorial integrity, in the end, this is all decided at the level of leaders,' he said. 'Without Ukraine, it is impossible to decide this. And, by the way, everyone also supports this.' Zelensky said Trump told him he would debrief him about his talks with Putin.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told US President Donald Trump and European leaders that support for Ukraine was unwavering and that there should be robust security guarantees as part of any peace deal with Russia. 'The Prime Minister was clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering — international borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal,' a readout of a call from Starmer's Downing Street office said. — Reuters