European leaders demand a say in US talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

European leaders have insisted their governments must have a say in talks between the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine, after Moscow and Washington said there was no role for Europe in the negotiations.

Leaders of Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Nato and the European Union met for more than three hours at the Elysee Palace in Paris for emergency talks on Europe’s security quandary after a US diplomatic blitz on Ukraine which has thrown a once-solid alliance into turmoil.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for US backing while reaffirming he is ready to consider sending British forces to Ukraine alongside others “if there is a lasting peace agreement”.

“There must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again,” he said after the meeting. Many EU nations are still undecided about whether to send troops while some are opposed.

General Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said he did not think it was “reasonable and feasible to have everybody sitting at the table”.

“We know how that can turn out and that has been our point, is keeping it clean and fast as we can,” he told reporters in Brussels, where he briefed the 31 US allies in Nato, along with EU officials, before heading to Kyiv for talks on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was equally dismissive about a role for Europe. “I don’t know what they have to do at the negotiations table,” he said as he arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with US officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has long championed a stronger European defence, said their rebukes and threats of non-cooperation in the face of military danger felt like a shock to the system.

The tipping point came when Mr Trump decided to upend years of US policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Shortly before the meeting in Paris on Monday, Mr Macron spoke with the US president, but Mr Macron’s office would not disclose details about the 20-minute discussion.

Sir Keir, who said he will travel to Washington next week to discuss with Mr Trump “what we see as the key elements of a lasting peace”, appears to be charting a “third way” in Europe’s shifting geopolitical landscape — aligning strategically with the US administration while maintaining EU ties.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who left the meeting before it had finished, told reporters a possible peace agreement with Russia cannot be forced on Ukraine from outside.

“We welcome the fact that talks are taking place, that peace is developing everywhere. But for us it must and is clear: This does not mean that peace can be dictated and that Ukraine must accept what is presented to it,” he said after he left the Elysee Palace.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said any peace agreement would need to have the active involvement of the EU and Ukraine, so as to not be a false end to the war “as has happened in the past”.

He went on: “What cannot be is that the aggressor is rewarded.”

He said Mr Macron had agreed to provide him with a briefing on the conclusions from the meeting in Paris.

“A ceasefire must not lead to Russian rearmament, which is followed by new Russian attacks,” warned Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen before the Paris meeting.

But Mr Scholz said talk of boots on the ground was “premature”.

“This is highly inappropriate, to put it bluntly, and honestly, we don’t even know what the outcome will be,” he added.

Italian premier Georgia Meloni reportedly described the option of sending troops as “the most complex and the least effective” during the meeting. She urged leaders to “explore other paths” and especially to get the US involved.