European leaders rally behind Ukraine after Trump-Putin summit fails to deliver ceasefire
Bloc will ‘uphold pressure on Russia’, leaders say in statement that also highlights tightrope walk in keeping Trump engaged on Ukraine
After a flurry of post-summit calls on Saturday, a coalition of Ukraine allies rallied around Kyiv, insisting that Russia could not veto its future membership of Nato or the European Union.
Nor could there be limitations on “Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries” as part of any peace agreement, read a statement quickly agreed between leaders of prominent European nations and EU institutions on Saturday morning.
“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” read the statement, signed by the leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as the European Commission and Council.
Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal
The statement showed Europe was trying to manage the fallout from Friday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to which neither Ukraine nor any other European country was invited.