The heads of Spanish, German and French diplomacy took turns confirming in Paris today that no decision on Ukraine can be made without Kiev and without the participation of Europeans, at a time when US and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to "direct" negotiations on Ukraine.
"There will be no just and lasting peace in Ukraine without the participation of Europeans," said Frenchman Jean-Noël Barrot, while German Analena Berbock and Spaniard José Manuel Albares Bueno said that no decision on Ukraine could be made "without Ukraine."
"We are talking about a sovereign country with a democratically elected government. Moreover, nothing that affects European security, and Russian aggression against Ukraine directly threatens European security, cannot be decided without Europe," said Albares Bueno.
The German minister then reiterated that "there can be no decision on Ukraine without Ukraine" and insisted on the need for Europe to "remain united".
Polish Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, for his part, stressed the need to strengthen support for Ukraine and advocated for "close transatlantic cooperation."
The ministers spoke ahead of a meeting in Paris on European defense and Ukraine that brings together France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
The meeting comes in the context of a telephone conversation that lasted more than an hour between the presidents of the US and Russia, who agreed, according to the US presidency, to begin negotiations "immediately" to end the conflict in Ukraine.
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