Dismayed by the Donald Trump administration’s move to initiate bilateral talks exclusively with Russia about bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, NATO allies are making it clear that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any such negotiations. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels yesterday, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the proposed face-to-face talks with Russia amounted to a betrayal of Kyiv. However, he did say it would be “unrealistic” for Ukraine to seek a return to its pre-2014 borders. Moreover, he declared that Washington did not believe it would be realistic to make a point of pressing for Ukrainian membership of NATO in any peace discussions.
Other defence ministers attending the NATO talks on Ukraine were quick to voice their disapproval of the U.S. position. “There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine. And Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks,” the U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey told reporters. Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Europe must play a part in the negotiations given its “central or the main role in the peace order.”
After talking on the phone with President Vladimir Putin and then with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday, President Trump let it be known that he would “probably” meet with the Russian leader in person soon, possibly in Saudi Arabia.
“There is no betrayal there – there is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace – a negotiated peace,” Hegseth insisted to reporters in Brussels. The war in Ukraine should be seen as “a wakeup call” for NATO’s European allies to spend more on their own defence budgets, he said.
France’s Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu noted that governments and parliaments across Europe are already approving more weapons purchases and bigger military budgets while helping Ukraine stave off an invasion. Now, he cautioned, it is the future of NATO, “the biggest and most robust alliance in history”, that is in question, citing how the U.S., “its biggest and most powerful member”, has “signalled that its security priorities lie elsewhere, including in Asia.”
Pointing out that European nations provided about 60% of the military support to Kyiv last year, Sweden’s Defence Minister Pål Jonson said it was obvious that they had to be involved in the negotiations, especially in light of Washington’s demands that Europe take more responsibility for Ukraine’s security in the longer term. According to Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur, it was the European Union that had driven sanctions against Russia and invested heavily in Ukraine’s defence. It was the EU that would be asked to foot the bill for rebuilding the war-ravaged country. “We have to be there. So there is no question about it. Otherwise this peace will not be long lasting,” he warned.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that whatever agreement is struck between Russia and Ukraine had to be “enduring, that Putin knows that this is the end, that he can never again try to capture a piece of Ukraine.”
