FT: Friedrich Merz offers to host Ukraine talks to pursue deal not done ‘above Europe’s head’

European officials and Zelensky with a look of horror on his face
Photo: huffingtonpost.com

Leaders of Germany, France and UK hold ‘detailed’ call with Donald Trump about latest draft of peace plan, ‘Financial Times’ reports.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Donald Trump not to pursue a Ukraine peace deal “above Europe’s head”, as he offered to host talks with Washington on potential territorial concessions to Russia to secure a ceasefire.

Merz said he held a “detailed” call with the US president on Wednesday, when along with France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he stressed the importance of Europe’s involvement in talks with Russia on matters crucial to the continent’s long-term security.

The call came after Kyiv sent Washington the latest draft of a peace proposal including revisions drawn up by Ukrainian and European governments, said people familiar with the matter.

Merz and Macron proposed talks on the revised plan with the US and Ukraine, including contentious territorial concessions to Moscow that Trump’s negotiating team has backed. A possible meeting in Berlin could then follow next week, he added.

“This is primarily about the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make... a question only the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people can answer,” Merz said on Thursday.

Trump said he had “pretty strong words” and “little disputes” with the three European leaders on the call.

He added: “They would like us to go to a meeting in Europe, and we’ll make a determination, depending on what they come back with.”

Ukrainian Zelenskyy has been adamant that he cannot concede territory to Russia, arguing that he has no legal or moral right to do so.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who drew up the initial US plan with a Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin, has pushed for Ukraine to concede the eastern region of the Donbas — composed of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. That first proposal said the area would become a “demilitarised zone” officially recognised as Russian territory.

The matter is fraught with political and military implications for Ukraine. Insisting on a unilateral withdrawal from the area of the Donbas is “one of the most difficult things to do”, said Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a group that procures military equipment for the Ukrainian army.

He said that most Ukrainians would be against handing over territory in almost any circumstance, particularly as it would be considered capitulation and likely to be “exploited by Russia inside Ukraine” to further destabilise the country even after a peace deal.

European leaders are trying to regain influence over negotiations between the US and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine, from which they have largely been sidelined.

The European initiative follows two weeks of high-stakes diplomacy that has sought to temper US pressure on Zelenskyy to make a quick decision on a proposed deal with far-reaching implications for Europe’s security. One person familiar with the first US proposal likened it to something “scribbled on a bar napkin”.

Russia has also yet to give any indication that it would accept the current iteration of the US-led peace plan, which falls short of Putin’s maximalist goals for ending the war.

After Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin last week, the Kremlin said it wanted the US to “make serious... radical changes to their papers” on Ukraine, but did not elaborate on its demands.

Russia has given verbal backing to Trump’s efforts but quietly expressed frustration at the US focus on territory, rather than the security issues Putin has said must be resolved before any ceasefire.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Putin and Witkoff had “eliminated misconceptions and misunderstandings” at the meeting but indicated Russia wanted its demands to be more fully reflected in the plan.

Lavrov said Russia had given the US “additional proposals on collective security guarantees”, according to Interfax, adding that any security guarantees “could not be limited only to Ukraine”. He also indicated Russia had not dropped long-standing demands for Nato to roll back all its deployments east of the former Iron Curtain.

Lavrov said European proposals for the peace deal were “not useful” and claimed the continent wanted to derail attempts to agree on security guarantees.

“The Europeans are only talking about making the Americans give Ukraine security guarantees while ignoring all of Russia’s security interests,” he said.

Macron (right) and Zelensky sadly leave their latest meeting. They understand that Trump will get his way!
Photo: AFP