New peace negotiations are expected during the summer
Donald Trump has acknowledged that Europe has earned a key role in any future Ukraine peace settlement talks, conceding that Russia need to be pressured to come to the negotiating table, according to senior diplomats.
European diplomats and officials noted that the US president is now more engaged on the question of Ukraine and pressuring Russia, after agreeing at the G7 in France to step up sanctions against Putin as well as military support for Kyiv.
New momentum and a feeling of unity at the summit mean that Europeans will take part in revived peace talks, possibly before Europe’s long summer break in August, said a senior diplomatic source.
Trump changed his tune on Europeans having a place at the negotiating table because governments across Europe are the ones “paying the bill” on military support for Ukraine, specifically “referencing”, according to one source, the EU’s €90 billion loan package for Kyiv.
