Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged Europeans to unity, among themselves but also with the United States of Donald Trump, stressing that transatlantic cooperation was essential to move towards lasting peace in Ukraine.
Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, has promised to bring peace “in 24 hours”, arousing the concern of Europeans who fear being sidelined, and of kyiv which does not does not want a “forced” peace after more than a thousand days of conflict.
“European guarantees will not be sufficient for Ukraine (…) For us the real guarantees, now and in the future, are in NATO,” insisted Volodymyr Zelensky after speaking to the leaders of the EU meeting in Brussels.
“It is only together that the United States and Europe can truly stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he said again as the American billionaire’s swearing-in approached.
French President Emmanuel Macron, traveling to Mayotte, a French archipelago devastated by a cyclone, did not participate in this European meeting, but he met his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday evening and discussed his idea of sending troops to the Ukrainian soil to guarantee a possible ceasefire.
Refusing to comment at too much length on this hypothesis, Mr. Zelensky nevertheless stressed that many points remained to be clarified. “We support his initiative, but we have to go into details… We have to be specific: how many would they be, what would they do in the event of Russian aggression?”
The priority is that Ukraine “is not forced to accept a peace that would be dictated to it”, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Wednesday on his arrival in Brussels.
But on Friday, he also stressed the need to “stop the massacres” in Ukraine and to “put ourselves in a situation that makes peace possible”.
“Any pressure to start negotiations too early would be a bad thing for Ukraine,” warned the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas.
– “Welcome Donald !” –
Volodymyr Zelensky participated on Wednesday evening with other European leaders, including those of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, in a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO.
Around Mark Rutte, “we have deliberately not talked about negotiations,” assured the head of the Dutch government Dick Schoof on Thursday.
But these could however open soon. The master of the Kremlin said he was ready on Thursday to meet “at any time” Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pleaded for the opening of these negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
In the meantime, the Europeans above all want to ensure that Ukraine is in a position of strength.
“Our friends, and even more so our enemies, will closely monitor how we continue to support Ukraine. Our support must therefore be unwavering,” warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Europeans promise at least 30 billion in financial aid to Ukraine in 2025, a large part of which will allow it to buy weapons, diplomats assure. They also want to help Ukraine get through the winter while Russia is shelling its energy infrastructure day after day.
Asked how he felt as Donald Trump’s upcoming installation in the White House approached, Volodymyr Zelensky first said “Welcome Donald!”
He then explained how crucial it was for the United States to stand by Ukraine. “I intend to listen to him, hear his point of view and express ours,” he said. “I hope he understands me because, whether we are politicians or businessmen, we are all human beings and we have, I think, the same emotions.”
By contrast, he painted a portrait of Vladimir Putin, a “dangerous” man, for Ukraine, Europe but also for the United States.
“I think he’s crazy (…), he likes to kill.”
