Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned he will reject any peace deal negotiated solely between the United States and Russia, as former U.S. President Donald Trump claims high-level talks between the Kremlin and Kyiv will take place on Friday.
Zelensky insisted that European Union leaders must be included in any negotiations to end the war, stating, "It’s important that everything does not go according to Putin’s plans, in which he wants to make negotiations bilateral [with the U.S.]. We, as an independent country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us." He made these remarks before departing for the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he would bring together Russian and Ukrainian diplomats for the first time in three years to work toward ending the war. According to Trump, the meeting, which will involve "high-level people" from Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, is set to take place at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
The Kremlin indicated that it sees Washington as its primary interlocutor in any potential talks, even if Ukraine is eventually included in some capacity. On Wednesday, Trump continued Washington’s diplomatic overtures to Moscow, stating he would "love" to see Russia rejoin the G7. Russia was suspended from the forum—then called the G8—in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea and later announced its permanent withdrawal in 2017.
Addressing reporters from the Oval Office, Trump confirmed that U.S. and Russian diplomats would meet on Friday, with Ukrainian officials also invited. However, he admitted uncertainty regarding the specific attendees, saying, "I’m not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country, but it would be high-level people from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States."
If held, this would be the first official meeting between Kyiv and Moscow representatives since the early days of the war, when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey. However, the announcement caught Ukrainian officials off guard, with presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn stating, "There are no talks planned. Right now, there’s nothing on the table. No talks with the Russians are planned in Munich." He reiterated that Ukraine’s position remains unchanged: "Ukraine must first speak with America. Europe must be part of any serious conversation for a genuine and lasting peace."
Adding another twist, Trump suggested that a high-level meeting involving representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. may take place in Saudi Arabia next week to advance peace efforts.
Zelensky expressed displeasure over Trump’s decision to consult Putin first about the negotiations, calling it "unpleasant." His concerns were echoed by European leaders, who are wary of a peace deal being brokered without their involvement.
These concerns escalated following comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who suggested that Ukraine should abandon hopes of reclaiming territory lost to Russia since 2014 and that NATO membership was off the table. On Thursday, however, Hegseth softened his stance, indicating that final decisions would be left to "the leader of the free world."
Trump has signaled that Ukraine may need to forgo NATO membership to secure peace. "Russia would never accept that," he remarked. "That’s the way it is, and I think that’s the way it’s going to have to be."
French President Emmanuel Macron warned against any settlement that would amount to "capitulation," stating in an interview that such an agreement would be "bad news for everyone." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Trump of appeasement, warning that "any deal behind our backs will not work. Appeasement always fails. Any quick fix is a dirty deal—we’ve seen it before, and it won’t stop the killing."
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized the U.S. for making preemptive concessions, stating, "It would have been better to discuss Ukraine’s NATO membership or territorial compromises at the negotiating table." His French counterpart, Sebastian Lecornu, mocked Trump’s "peace through strength" mantra, suggesting he was instead pursuing "peace through weakness," which could lead to further conflict.
European Council President Antonio Costa underscored that "no credible and successful negotiations, no lasting peace, can happen without Ukraine and the EU."
Defending Trump’s approach, Hegseth dismissed the criticism as "cheap political points," arguing that no other world leader could bring Putin and Zelensky to the table. "These negotiations are led by President Trump. Everything is on the table in his conversations with Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. The leader of the free world will ultimately decide what is permissible."
Trump himself denied that negotiations with Moscow were already underway, stating, "It’s too early to say what’s going to happen. Maybe Russia will give up a lot, maybe they won’t."
Inside Russia, state media openly celebrated Trump’s overtures to Putin. Meanwhile, former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev told The Telegraph that Putin "knows how to conduct diplomacy, whereas neither Americans nor Europeans do." He suggested that if Trump made concessions, it would amount to admitting that the U.S. had lost.
Political analyst Tatiana Stanovya argued that Putin aims to bring Ukraine under Russian control and has no intention of scaling back his demands. "This will be a long bargaining process," she said, "where Moscow is prepared for any outcome, from limited agreements to a complete breakdown of dialogue or even escalation."
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