Brussels: Several European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Tuesday that the current front line in Ukraine should be the starting point for possible peace negotiations.
“We strongly support U.S. President Donald Trump‘s position that the fighting should stop immediately and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
The signatories include UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” the statement reads.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump said the front line in Ukraine should be frozen and the two sides “can negotiate something later on down the line.”
On Monday, Trump then said he does not believe Ukraine would win the war against Russia, though he has not ruled it out entirely.
The European statement stressed that Ukraine is the only party to the conflict seriously interested in peace.
“We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction,” it read. The signatories reiterated their commitment to supporting Ukraine.
“We are clear that Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position before, during, and after any ceasefire,” the leaders say.
The statement also referred to efforts underway in Europe to utilise assets of the Russian central bank frozen in the European Union.
This measure and the 19th package of EU sanctions on Russia are to be discussed by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
