Ukraine battle: Russian and US officers meet in Saudi Arabia for peace talks, with out Kyiv – Europe stay

Because the talks in Riyadh proceed behind the closed doorways, now we have been getting some strains from the Kremlin, through Reuters and AFP.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned that Putin can be prepared to speak to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy “if necessary,” however appeared to query his legitimacy.

“Putin himself said that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary but the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky’s legitimacy can be questioned,” he instructed reporters.

He additionally mentioned that the difficulty of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union was its sovereign proper and that Russia didn’t intend to dictate to Kyiv the way it ought to method the query – however it will draw a line relating to navy alliances.

“We are talking about integration and economic integration processes. And here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country, and we are not going to do that,” Peskov mentioned.

However on Nato, he mentioned: “There is a completely different position, of course, on security-related issues related to defence or military alliances.”

In feedback which might be more likely to trigger additional alarm in central and jap Europe, Peskov additionally mentioned that “a lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent.”

He additionally added that the talks in Riyadh would possibly present extra readability on a potential assembly between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, however there isn’t a understanding on this query but.

European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen instructed US envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellog that the European Union desires to “work alongside the US to end the bloodshed and help secure the just and lasting peace that Ukraine and its people rightfully deserve,” based on a readout launched by her workplace.

Von der Leyen additionally introduced Kellogg with “Europe’s plans to scale up defence production and spending, reinforcing both European and Ukrainian military capabilities.”

“Reaffirming the EU’s commitment to a just and lasting peace, the President reiterated that any resolution must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, backed by strong security guarantees,” the be aware mentioned.

“As the President made it clear: now is a critical moment,” it added.

European Fee vice-president Teresa Ribera instructed Reuters that US president Donald Trump has upended the “trustful relationship” between the US and Europe, and that Brussels ought to deal with offering the predictability and stability that’s missing in Washington.

“We need to stick to our strengths and principles,” she mentioned in an interview in London on Monday, criticising Trump’s transactional method to politics.

“We need to be flexible but we cannot transact on human rights nor are we going to transact on the unity of Europe, and we are not going to transact on democracy and values,” she argued.

In unusually direct feedback, Ribera additionally criticised the US policymaking, saying she does “not see any predictability, stability or affordability in these announcements, this is a little bit shocking.”

The Spanish politician, who’s in command of EU’s digital playbook guidelines within the Digital Companies Act, additionally mentioned that – regardless of repeated criticism from the US administration – she would subject two choices on US Huge Tech corporations, Apple and Meta, “next month.”

“There will be decisions along the lines that have been discussed with the companies, developed and based on evidence,” she mentioned.

Talking of France’s Emmanuel Macron, we didn’t hear from him final night time, however he posted a social media replace after the talks.

“After bringing together several European leaders, I have just spoken with President @realDonaldTrump and then with President @ZelenskyyUa,” he mentioned.

He asserted that European companions “seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine,” as “Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians.”

Repeating comparable warnings from different leaders, he mentioned that “otherwise, there is a risk that this ceasefire will end up like the Minsk agreements.”

“We’ll work on this along with all Europeans, People, and Ukrainians. That is the important thing.

We’re satisfied that Europeans should make investments higher, extra, and collectively of their safety and protection—each for at this time and for the long run.

To this finish, Europeans need to speed up the implementation of their very own agenda for sovereignty, safety, and competitiveness. Work will proceed based mostly on the European Fee’s proposals, each in supporting Ukraine and in creating and investing in our protection. This agenda, outlined in 2022 on the Versailles Summit, should merely be carried out.

Choices, actions, coherence. Rapidly.

I’ll proceed these discussions within the coming days.

Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna is in Warsaw this morning attending a Basic Affairs Council of the European Union, and he or she briefly spoke with reporters earlier than the assembly.

Stefanishyna was additionally requested about potential safety ensures for Ukraine and deployment of European troops as a part of a peacekeeping power, and her ideas on the Paris summit final night time.

She famous that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had “a long phone call” with the host, French president Emmanuel Macron, and mentioned the query of ensures and deployment remained beneath “active discussion”.

“We are closely following the developments on the US side, but I am sure that the European Union, while … hesitant on many issues, will be strong enough to help Ukraine prevail,” she mentioned.

She additionally harassed that Ukraine was “not in a process of negotiating a deal,” whereas acknowledging the “processes” put in place by the brand new US administration.

She additionally mentioned that Ukraine “has not rejected” the proposed US deal on important minerals, which stay beneath dialogue. “We expect that it will be signed,” she mentioned.

Stefanishyna was a part of the Ukrainian delegation on the Munich Safety Convention, collaborating in a bilateral assembly with US vice-president JD Vance alongside president Zelenskyy.

And nearly in parallel, US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg arrives on the Berlaymont in Brussels for his talks with European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen.

Later at this time, he can even meet with European Council president António Costa earlier than travelling to Poland to satisfy with Polish president Andrzej Duda.

… and we at the moment are getting first footage from contained in the room the place it occurs because the US-Russia talks get beneath manner in Riyadh.

Morning opening: Oh I wanna be within the room the place it occurs

Jakub Krupa

Again when Europe was nonetheless seeking to America with hope, and never despair and confusion, a US musical completely captured the character of the conversations we’re going to see at this time:

Nobody actually is aware of how the sport is performed
The artwork of the commerce
How the sausage will get made
We simply assume that it occurs
However nobody else is within the room the place it occurs

Effectively, from the European viewpoint, that’s precisely the issue: that nobody will probably be within the room the place it occurs because the US and Russian negotiators meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this morning.

Their talks have simply began in the previous few minutes.

US secretary state Marco Rubio and Russian international minister Sergei Lavrov are going to debate their bilateral relations, potential for future partnerships, and what they intend to do to deliver to an finish the Russian unlawful aggression of Ukraine.

However Ukraine and Europe are usually not there and should depend on a refined model of what they get instructed by the US administration. Not very best.

As Hamilton put it,

Once you obtained pores and skin within the recreation, you keep within the recreation
However you don’t get a win until you play within the recreation
Oh, you get love for it
You get hate for it
However you get nothing in case you
Anticipate it

The query of get again in that room was mentioned on the final night time’s emergency assembly in Paris, and I will probably be reactions throughout Europe and European leaders’ plans on what’s subsequent.

Or, to cite Aaron Burr,

I wanna be (The place it occurs)
I’ve obtained to be, I’ve obtained to be (I wanna be within the room the place it occurs)
In that room (The room the place it occurs)
In that massive ol’ room (The room the place it occurs)

It’s Tuesday, 18 February 2024, and that is Europe Dwell. It’s Jakub Krupa right here.

Good morning.

The talks between the US and Russia at the moment are beneath manner in Riyadh, Reuters says.

Donald Trump sidelined Kyiv and different European capitals from the negotiations on ending the Ukraine battle after which known as into query the way forward for US help for Europe’s safety altogether.

On this podcast, the Guardian’s central and jap Europe correspondent, Shaun Walker, talks by means of a seismic week.

Russia hopes that the US will hear Moscow’s place throughout the talks in Riyadh, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund mentioned at this time.

Russia’s Interfax information company was quoting Kirill Dmitriev, a US-educated former Goldman Sachs banker who performed a task in early contacts between Moscow and Washington throughout Trump’s first time period as president from 2016-20.

In the meantime, the beginning of the talks would haven’t any affect on Moscow’s cooperation with Tehran, the Tass information company reported on Tuesday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

He added that Russia was prepared to assist Iran in fixing issues associated to its nuclear program.

At this time’s Russia-US talks in Riyadh come barely a month after Donald Trump took workplace and mirror a big departure from Washington’s place beneath the administration of Joe Biden, who eschewed public contacts, concluding that Russia was not severe about ending the battle, Reuters studies.

Russia, which has occupied components of Ukraine since 2014, launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump has vowed to finish the battle rapidly. Ukraine says no agreements may be made on its behalf within the talks, to which Kyiv was not invited.

US officers sought to forged at this time’s talks as an preliminary contact to find out whether or not Moscow was severe about ending the battle in Ukraine.

State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce instructed reporters in Riyadh:

This can be a follow-up on that preliminary dialog between Putin and President Trump about maybe if that first step is even potential, what the pursuits are, if this may be managed.

The Kremlin, nonetheless, instructed the discussions would cowl “the entire complex of Russian-American relations”, in addition to getting ready for talks on a potential settlement relating to Ukraine and a gathering between the 2 presidents.

Right here’s the newest Ukraine battle briefing forward of at this time’s US-Russia talks to debate ending the battle.

As Warren Murray and companies report, Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the US was attempting to “please” Vladimir Putin because it aimed for a “quick win” by dashing in the direction of a ceasefire. “But what they want – just a ceasefire – is not a win,” the Ukrainian president mentioned in an interview broadcast on Monday. “We [Ukraine] will not sign just anything in order to be applauded … the fate of our state for generations to come [is at stake].”

Zelenskyy additionally warned that Europe was in a weak place if it couldn’t depend on US safety help. “There will definitely not be a Ukrainian victory without US support.”

Zelenskyy mentioned he and Donald Trump had spoken about deploying international troops to police a future ceasefire. “I told him the Americans should be a part of this, because otherwise we might lose our unity.”

At a gathering of Kyiv’s backers in Brussels final week, the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, flatly rejected the potential of a US troop deployment to Ukraine.

Click on right here for the complete report:

European futures hit file peaks on Tuesday as defence shares soared on expectations of a spending bump.

S&P 500 futures had been up 0.2% and European futures had been up 0.1%, Reuters studies. On Monday the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.5% greater as a gauge of defence and aerospace shares surged 4.6% to lifetime peaks, having already greater than doubled in worth since Russia invaded Ukraine three years in the past.

Buyers count on earnings within the trade to proceed to rise strongly, pushed by a big surge in defence budgets to satisfy new safety wants – which analysts have dubbed a “supercycle” for the sector.

Hopes for an finish to hostilities in Ukraine additionally improved sentiment in different sectors in Europe.

“A resolution to the conflict in Ukraine could deliver positive growth impulses for Europe, including improved consumer confidence, lower energy prices and easier financial conditions,” mentioned Bruno Schneller, managing director at Erlen Capital Administration.

French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday hosted an emergency summit on Ukraine after US officers instructed Europe would haven’t any function in any talks this week in Saudi Arabia aimed toward ending the battle. The UK mentioned it was able to ship peacekeeping troops to again up any deal.

Headlines in European newspapers at this time had been dominated by the emergency assembly of leaders in Paris after every week by which the US sidelined Europe and Ukraine from ceasefire negotiations and made it plain the US shouldn’t be relied upon for the area’s safety, Helen Livingstone studies.

The summit got here a day earlier than at this time’s US-Russia assembly in Riyadh however ended with little unity on essential factors, together with the concept of sending a European peacekeeping power to the nation.

“Europe in Trump shock”, Germany’s Handelsblatt reported, writing that at the same time as Europeans attempt to discover a frequent technique for coping with Russia and the US, there may be “no consensus on key questions”.

Within the UK, the Guardian splashed on “Starmer: US ‘backstop’ vital to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine” and reported that European leaders had additionally known as for a “massive boost in defence spending” on the Paris assembly.

For a full rundown on the headlines, click on right here:

The prospects of the US-Russia talks resulting in an settlement to halt the preventing in Ukraine are unclear, Agence France-Presse studies, and the US and Russia have forged the discussions as the start of a probably prolonged course of.

“I don’t think that people should view this as something that is about details or moving forward in some kind of a negotiation,” US State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce mentioned.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s international coverage adviser, instructed state media the talks would talk about “how to start negotiations on Ukraine”.

Each Ukraine and Russia have dominated out territorial concessions and Putin final yr demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from much more territory.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Turkey on Tuesday to debate the battle with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after which Saudi Arabia a day later.

He doesn’t plan to carry talks with both the US or Russian delegations, his spokesperson mentioned on Monday.

Zelenskyy mentioned final week he was ready to satisfy Putin, however solely after Kyiv and its allies had a typical place on ending the battle.

Hey and welcome to our stay protection of the US-Russia talks in Riyadh – it’s approaching 8am within the Saudi capital.

At this time’s talks goal to pave the way in which for the primary exchanges on a possible peace deal to finish the Ukraine battle. Nonetheless, Kyiv and European leaders have been excluded, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mentioned that Ukraine “cannot recognise any things or any agreements about us without us”.

Russia’s international minister, Sergei Lavrov, and senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov are to satisfy with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz and Center East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, criticised US president Donald Trump’s choice to hurry into peace talks with Russia, saying it was “highly inappropriate” {that a} debate had began concerning the consequence of talks that had not but taken place and had been being carried out with out Ukraine’s involvement.

That is Adam Fulton to kick off our reporting earlier than Jakub Krupa takes the reins later to steer you thru the day.

The US and Russian sides either side performed down the possibilities that the primary high-level assembly since US Trump took workplace would end in a breakthrough, however the existence of the talks and Washington’s latest overtures in the direction of the Kremlin have alarmed Ukraine and Europe.

The talks come after European leaders gathered in Paris for an emergency summit on how to answer the brand new US administration’s dramatic pivot. The summit heard widespread requires a big increase in defence spending, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, later urged Trump to present a US “backstop” to a European peacekeeping power in Ukraine, saying it was the one approach to deter Russia from attacking the nation once more.

Preparations for a potential summit between presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin are additionally anticipated to be on the Riyadh agenda. Trump is pushing for a swift decision to the three-year battle in Ukraine, whereas Russia sees his outreach as an opportunity to win concessions.

In different developments:

• Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s international coverage adviser, mentioned on Monday upon arrival in Riyadh that talks on Ukraine can be strictly bilateral, Russia’s RIA state information company reported. “We came to negotiate with American colleagues,” it quoted Ushakov as saying. “These are bilateral talks, purely bilateral. There can be no trilateral talks in Riyadh.”

• The Riyadh talks are continuing to comply with up on a shock telephone name to Putin initiated by Trump final week. Trump’s particular Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, harassed Trump needed a fast deal: “We are now at Trump time, which means I get an assignment today and tomorrow at noon he asks me why it hasn’t been done yet.”

• Russia mentioned forward of the assembly that Putin and Trump needed to maneuver on from “abnormal relations” and that it noticed no place for Europeans to be at any negotiating desk.

• Zelenskyy accused Washington of wanting “to please” Putin by “now saying things that are very favourable” to him. The Ukrainian president mentioned any peace deal would wish to incorporate “robust and reliable” safety ensures, which France and Britain have known as for however not all European powers help.