Zelenskyy and European leaders accuse Putin of stalling for time on peace talks
Ukraine’s president and European leaders have accused Vladimir Putin of stalling for time in diplomatic efforts to bring his invasion of Ukraine to an end and opposed any move to make Kyiv surrender land captured by Russian forces in return for peace.
Eight European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer and senior European Union officials said in a joint statement they intend to go ahead with plans to use Moscow’s billions of euros of frozen assets abroad to help Kyiv win the war, despite some misgivings about the legality and consequences of such a step.
The statement expressed support for Donald Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine as he prepares to meet Mr Putin in Budapest, Hungary in coming weeks.
But it also laid down a marker by saying the leaders “remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force”.
Mr Trump last month reversed his long-held position that Ukraine would have to concede land and said it could win back all the territory it has lost to Russia.
However, after a phone call with Mr Putin last week and a subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Mr Trump shifted his position again and called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” in the more than three-year war.
Mr Trump said on Monday that while he thinks it is possible that Ukraine can ultimately defeat Russia, he is now doubtful it will happen.
Ukrainian and European leaders are trying hard to keep Mr Trump on their side.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the statement said. “We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction.”
The dynamics of Mr Trump’s engagement with Europe’s biggest conflict since the Second World War have zigzagged as he searches for a peace deal.
Russia occupies about one fifth of Ukraine but carving up their country in return for peace is unacceptable to Kyiv officials.
Also, a conflict frozen on the current front line could fester, with occupied areas of Ukraine offering Moscow a springboard for new attacks in the future, Ukrainian and European officials fear.
The statement by the leaders of Ukraine, the UK, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Denmark and EU officials came early in what Mr Zelensky would be a week that is “very active in diplomacy”.
More international economic sanctions on Russia are likely to be discussed at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
“We must ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defence industry, until Putin is ready to make peace,” Tuesday’s statement said.
On Friday, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing — a group of 35 countries who support Ukraine — is due to take place in London.
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