The fate of Ukraine, discussed in Paris and Riyadh; What European leaders established

The great powers are currently negotiating the fate of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, negotiations to which officials from Bucharest were not invited to participate, although Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu claims that we will participate in the next meetings at the European level. Until then, the European camp, surprised by the speed with which the Trump Administration moved, which has already scheduled the first discussions with Kremlin representatives for today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had a reduced-format meeting in Paris yesterday, under the leadership of President Macron.

According to press statements given by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately after the Paris summit, the EU does not want a peace imposed on Ukraine by the US and the Russian Federation and will continue to support the authorities in Kiev with everything necessary and for as long as necessary.

Olaf Scholz said: "We met today to assure Ukraine of our support and to discuss European security, which we must achieve through our own forces. We came together because there are many actors who have something to say on these important topics for the difficult situation that Europe is going through. It is clear: we must continue to support Ukraine, which trusts us. We will continue to support it. We exchanged views on a possible peace plan, but one thing is clear to us: we will not agree to a dictated peace, imposed on Ukraine, which must not accept everything that has been proposed to it in these days by other international actors. We are in contact with the President of Ukraine and support his point of view. Then we must offer Ukraine a clear perspective of accession to the European Union. For all this, we will continue to strengthen the military support provided to Ukraine. We know that many challenges await us, but there are things that we will not negotiate with anyone outside the EU and we will take decisions soon both on the support provided and on the strengthening of European security. We need a lasting, sustainable commitment on European defense. The debate has been launched, it has come at the right time (...) There are two solutions at the moment. The first would be a common loan for European defense, and the second would be an additional budgetary margin for these necessary expenses, a margin that would guarantee the stability of public finances".

By the time of going to press, only the German Chancellor had given statements to the press about the informal summit held last night in the French capital.

• Sending European troops to Ukraine, an uncomfortable topic for EU leaders

According to the French press, one of the topics on the agenda of the informal summit organized in Paris, which was attended by representatives of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Poland (all of these states have a strong defense industry), as well as the President of the European Commission - Ursula von der Leyen, the Head of the European Council - Antonio Costa - and the Secretary General of NATO - Mark Rutte -, was also the sending of European troops to maintain order in the buffer zone that will be created between Ukraine and Russia after the conclusion of peace.

After the meeting, asked by the press about this topic, Olaf Scholz seemed irritated and said that it was an inappropriate topic for the current moment in which we are and that these things should only be discussed during the peace negotiations. The German leader added that Europe and the United States must always act together on security matters: "There must be no division of security and responsibility between Europe and the United States. NATO is based on the fact that we always act together and share the risk, thus guaranteeing our security. This should not be questioned."

Regarding this topic, prior to the event in Paris, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to send troops to Ukraine, but instead Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated, according to France 24, that it is too early to discuss the deployment of European troops in Ukraine, because he believes that peace must first be negotiated.

Regarding the above positions, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that his country will not send troops, but will continue to provide military aid to the authorities in Kiev as before. Donald Tusk also said that Europe is not currently ready to counter the forces of the Russian Federation. According to French broadcaster BFM TV, Tusk called for an "immediate" increase in Europe's defense capabilities at the informal summit, warning that they were not in line with those of Russia.

"We will not be able to effectively help Ukraine if we do not immediately take concrete steps regarding our own defense capabilities," said Donald Tusk.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who said in a post on the official X network page: "Europe's security is at a turning point. Yes, it's about Ukraine, but it's also about us. We need urgent action and increased efforts in our defense, things that need to happen now."

• Massive military support for Ukraine in 2025

According to a document that is expected to be adopted this week in the EU Council, a document cited by AFP, the European Union is expected to deliver 1.5 million artillery shells, high-precision missiles, drones and air defense systems to Ukraine this year, and to strengthen training missions for the Ukrainian military. So far, according to the cited source, 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers have already benefited from these training programs.

Regarding today's negotiations in Riyadh, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed, quoted by France 24, that any agreement with Ukraine must be "lasting and fair", warning against an agreement that would turn into "a pause in the fight that would give Putin the opportunity to come back stronger". Starmer said that next week he would travel to Washington where he would present his opinion to President Donald Trump.

Regarding today's meeting in Riyadh, between the American and Russian delegations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, declared yesterday that Ukraine will not recognize any agreement between the US and Russia regarding its national territory, if it is not a party to the negotiations between the two great powers. Moreover, the Ukrainian president stated that if Europe does not understand how to play an important role in these negotiations, there is a risk that Russia will start a war against European states and that for this purpose it has mobilized several divisions in Belarus, unlike the small number of allied troops on NATO's Eastern Flank.

To allay the Ukrainian president's fears, Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson for the US State Department, stated yesterday that today's meeting is taking place following the telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and that it will not end with any initialing of any agreement on Ukraine, but represents a first step towards the opening of negotiations.