Munich, Feb 16: Finland’s president on Sunday urged the rearming of Ukraine and putting “maximum pressure on Russia” through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to possible negotiations sought by the US on ending the war.
France was set to host a meeting to help firm up Europe’s answer to assertive American diplomacy.
Alexander Stubb and other European leaders at the final day of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday sought to firm up how the European Union can move from talk to more action and stay relevant as Washington pushes to stop the fighting. He laid out three phases: “pre-negotiation”, ceasefire and long-term peace negotiation.
“The first phase is the pre-negotiation, and this is a moment when we need to rearm Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia, which means sanctions, which means frozen assets, so that Ukraine begins these negotiations from a position of strength,” he said.
There were early signs of efforts for a quick reaction from EU leaders.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will convene leading European countries for an emergency “working meeting” on Monday in Paris to discuss next steps for Ukraine after the US announcements last week.
News reports said Prime Ministers Keir Starmer of Britain, Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, and Donald Tusk of Poland were among those set to attend.
Trump’s diplomatic push setting a pace
US President Donald Trump’s push for a quick way out of the Ukraine war has stirred concern and uncertainty in Munich.
After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Trump said he and Putin would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine. Trump later assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he also would have a seat at the table. US officials have indicated that European nations, however, would not be involved.
“Don’t underestimate Trump as a negotiator, I genuinely believe that Putin is baffled and afraid what might be coming from there,” Stubb said.
“Right now, the ball is in our court here in Europe. We need to convince the Americans where’s the value added, and then get back into the table.”
“I think in Europe we need to talk less and do more,” he added later.
President Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, which like Finland borders Russia, agreed that “if we are strong, if we have something to offer … then we are going to be interesting to the United States. If you are just continue having those nice conferences, talking and whining, then we are not going to be interesting to our own publics very soon”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV on Sunday that the Putin-Trump call was a sign that Washington and Moscow “will now try to solve problems through dialogue and talk about peace, not war”. (AP)
Zelenskyy rejects proposed agreement with United States
Munich, Feb 16: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on US interests.
The proposal, which was a key part of Zelenskyy’s talks with US Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks.
President Zelenskyy’s decision not to sign a deal, at least for now, was described as “short-sighted” by a senior White House official.
“I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday in Munich.
The proposal focused on how the US could use Kyiv’s rare earth minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said, speaking anonymously so they could speak freely.
Ukraine has vast reserves of critical minerals that are used in the aerospace, defence and nuclear industries.
The Trump administration has indicated it is interested in accessing them to reduce dependence on China but Zelenskyy said any exploitation would need to be tied to security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian aggression.
“For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy did not go into details about why he instructed his officials not to sign the document, which was given to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent on a visit to Kyiv.
“It’s a colonial agreement and Zelenskyy cannot sign it,” the former senior official said.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes did not explicitly confirm the offer, but said in a statement that “President Zelenskyy is being short-sighted about the excellent opportunity the Trump administration has presented to Ukraine”. (AP)