US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have been conducting activities since the beginning of 2025 aimed at mediating negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which however, they do not bring specific results. The European initiative to take a leading role in peace talks comes at a time when Washington is increasingly focused on ending the US-Israel war with Iran.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, Merz and his French and British counterparts — along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — called for “direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia with the active participation of the United States and Europe” and outlined five conditions for achieving peace, including an immediate and complete ceasefire.
The statement said the current line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces must be the starting point for negotiations, and Ukraine must have “robust and legally binding” security guarantees. Russian assets must remain frozen until the Kremlin “ends the aggressive war and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused by the war,” the statement said.
Plan for further talks on Ukraine
European leaders will further discuss the approach to possible peace talks at the G7 summit in Evian, Kornelius said. [15-17 czerwca] and at the European Council summit in Brussels next week. “We need the widest possible support from all European partners to truly pursue peace,” he said.
However, it is still unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will be willing to meet with European leaders who have been excluded from direct negotiations, even though they have long they sought a greater role in shaping a possible peace solution.
European countries, especially Germany, have become Kiev's biggest allies in military matters and probably will take a tougher stance in negotiations with Moscow than their American counterparts. Zelensky sent an open letter to Putin last Thursday calling for a meeting to end the fighting, but Putin did not agree to the idea.
Putin had previously suggested that a potential negotiator in the Ukraine peace talks would be a Kremlin-friendly former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. However, this proposal was quickly implemented rejected by European capitals, where it was widely seen as a deliberate attempt to divide the continent, as well as Putin presenting himself as a good faith negotiating partner. However, the Russian leader knew in advance that this proposal would probably not be accepted.
Cornelius stated that Getting Putin to the negotiating table 'could take weeks or even months' and that “only a strong Ukraine and pressure on Russia will convince Putin to withdraw.”
He stressed that Europe must be ready when that time comes. “We also need to develop readiness for dialogue and agree on the conditions under which such talks will be able to take place at all,” he said. “It's all part of the preparation. We are in a phase of reorientation.”
