Europeans renew their support for Zelensky after Trump’s criticism

Ukraine’s European allies have shown their support for President Volodymyr Zelensky, expressing doubts about parts of a US proposal to end the war with Russia.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Zelensky in London the day before yesterday for about two hours after US President Donald Trump accused him of not reviewing his latest proposal to end the conflict with Russia, the details of which have not yet been revealed.

At the beginning of the meeting, Meretz expressed his “doubts” regarding “some details in the documents received from the United States,” without specifying which documents he was referring to, and said: “This issue must be discussed, and that is why we are here.”

Before the London talks, a high-ranking Ukrainian official told Agence France-Presse that the territorial issue is still “the most complex,” as Moscow is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from some of the areas it still controls.

Russia, which controls the bulk of Donbass, wants to control the entire region, a demand that Kiev has repeatedly rejected.

The Ukrainian president said during an online press conference the night before last: “Are we thinking about giving up territory? “We have no legal right to do this, neither under Ukrainian law, nor our constitution, nor international law, and we have no moral right either.”

Frozen Russian assets

Zelensky also held talks in Brussels on Monday evening with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen stressed on the “X” platform that “the European Union remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine,” stressing that “Ukraine’s long-term security must be guaranteed as it is the Union’s first line of defense.”

Another major issue for Ukraine is the issue of “compensations” for war damage, as Zelensky mentioned on “X” after those meetings.

A British official said that he “hopes that progress will be made soon” regarding the use of Russian assets frozen in Europe to finance Ukraine, and the European Union hopes to reach an agreement in this regard during the next European summit, on December 18 and 19. Since the presentation of the American plan, which was considered favorable to Russia, three weeks ago, the European powers allied with Kiev have been seeking to make their voice heard.

The French presidency said: “The London meeting allowed the continuation of joint work on the American plan for peace in Ukraine, with the aim of completing it with European contributions, in close coordination with Kiev.”

Before the meeting, Keir Starmer told ITV News the day before yesterday: “I will not put pressure on President Zelensky,” adding that “the most important thing is to reach a cessation of military actions in a fair and sustainable manner.”

disappointment

Following a meeting held in Geneva at the end of last November between the Ukrainians, the Americans, and the Europeans, Russian President Vladimir Putin received the American envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, last week.

The Kremlin reported some progress, although much work still needs to be done.

In response to a question during a celebration held in Washington last Sunday, he criticized Trump, who is sending mixed signals to Zelensky, for not being informed of his plan.

Trump said: “I spoke with President Putin and with Ukrainian leaders, including Zelensky, and I must say that I am disappointed that President Zelensky has not read the proposal yet.”