The French president and the German chancellor have expressed serious skepticism about the efforts of the US government and its envoys to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, according to a transcript of a confidential conversation seen by German magazine Der Spiegel.
In an article published yesterday, Der Spiegel states that in a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the United States could turn its back on Ukraine when it comes to territorial concessions and guarantees needed to reach any agreement.
"There is a possibility that the US will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory, without clear security guarantees," Macron said, according to the magazine.
In a conversation on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Zelensky that American negotiators, likely referring to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were "playing games" and that he should be "very careful" in the coming days, Der Spiegel reported.
These and other statements show the Europeans' deep distrust of Donald Trump's two envoys, and the German magazine points out that the notes show that the same applies to the other participants in the talks, even though European officials have consistently praised Washington's new peace initiative.
Finnish President Alexander Stubbs, one of the few Europeans who has a good relationship with Trump, also reportedly warned the negotiating duo. “We must not leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys,” he said at one point in the conversation. Even NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has been very complimentary about Trump in public, reportedly agreed with Alexander that “we have to protect Volodymyr.”
According to Der Spiegel, in addition to Macron, Merz, Rutte and Stub, participants in the confidential European conference call were Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
The confidential conference call also discussed the possible use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. The participants repeatedly stressed that it must be made clear to the American side that the issue of frozen assets is solely within the competence of the EU. In an editorial for the influential daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Wednesday, Merz reiterated that Europe cannot “leave it to other, non-European states to decide what happens to the financial assets of the aggressors that are legally frozen within our legal jurisdiction and in our own currency.”
When contacted for comment, several participants confirmed to the German magazine that the conversation had indeed taken place. Two participants said the content of the call was accurately conveyed, but they did not want to confirm individual quotes, as it was a confidential meeting. A spokesman for Zelensky said he did not want to comment on any part of the content.
Paris, however, denied that Macron spoke of an impending American betrayal. “The president did not express himself in those words,” the Elysee Palace said. However, the president’s office refused to provide Der Spiegel with information about what Macron actually said at the meeting, citing the confidentiality of the conversation.
Instead, the cabinet referred to a press conference Macron held with Zelensky in Paris on Monday. There, the French president took a rather different tone when commenting on US officials. In his address to reporters, Macron repeatedly emphasized the positive role played by the United States. American mediation, he said, is “a very good thing,” adding that it increases pressure on Russia.
The German chancellor's office said yesterday that it would not comment on "alleged excerpts of the conversation." Officials said that Merck had already spoken "extensively and publicly" about the phone call. He stressed the importance of mobilizing frozen Russian assets and transatlantic cooperation.
Speaking about the United States, Merck said at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Tusk in Berlin early Sunday that "we are keeping the transatlantic community together as much as possible."
The conference call of heads of state and government was held on Monday, and the Europeans' consultations with Zelensky were preceded by talks over the weekend between senior Ukrainian security official Rustam Umerov and Trump's negotiators, Vitkoff and Kushner, in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Florida.
In a confidential conversation, Merz, Macron and the other heads of government apparently still held out hope of arranging a meeting with Wittkoff and Kouchner on Wednesday, following their meeting with Putin on Tuesday in the Kremlin. Merz offered to ask Trump to send Wittkoff to Brussels. They also discussed whether the heads of state and government (“leaders”) should attend such a meeting and whether it could be held at NATO headquarters or on EU premises. Italian Prime Minister Meloni was apparently against it. Finnish President Stubb, however, spoke in favor.
Vitkoff flew directly back to the United States from Moscow on Wednesday; a meeting with European security advisers on Wednesday did not take place. However, they met again with Ukraine's chief negotiator Umerov in Brussels on the same day, the government in Kiev said, adding that Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andriy Khnatov should now prepare a new meeting with American envoys in the United States.
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