European governments have rallied behind Volodymyr Zelenskiy and are rushing to secure a deal on the use of Russia’s frozen assets after the Ukrainian leader was pressurised by Donald Trump to accept Vladimir Putin’s demands to end the war.
“We see president Trump’s efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, all these efforts are welcome but we don’t see Russia wanting peace,” said Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s (EU) top diplomat, on Monday. “We are discussing what more we can do.”
Ms Kallas spoke after the Financial Times reported on a tense White House meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskiy on Friday, in which Ukraine’s leader sought to present counterarguments to Mr Putin’s maximalist requests, which include territorial concessions.
But Mr Trump warned Mr Zelenskiy that Mr Putin had threatened to “destroy” Ukraine if it did not comply, and said that a peace deal was within reach when the US and Russian presidents meet in Budapest in the coming weeks.
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On Monday Mr Trump told reporters that “if we make a deal, that’s great. If we don’t make a deal ... a lot of people are going to be paying a big price”.
European leaders will hold a summit on Thursday in Brussels, potentially with Mr Zelenskiy, aiming to agree on using immobilised Russian assets for a €140 billion loan to Ukraine, which German chancellor Friedrich Merz has suggested be used solely to arm Kyiv.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday voiced support for Ukraine, saying the bloc must agree the use of Russian frozen assets and a further round of sanctions against Moscow.
“The EU should put Ukraine in a strong starting position by providing military assistance, by looking at how we can use the financial assets to give them some kind of financial alleviation in order for them to have the best cards at the table,” said David van Weel, the Dutch foreign minister.
EU officials are confident that the Thursday summit will give the green light to the European Commission to put forward a proposal on lending the money in tranches, which will be used to buy weapons.
Hungary’s pro-Russian prime minister Viktor Orban will be absent from the early part of the summit to attend a national holiday, allowing the other 26 leaders to potentially agree without him.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters that the funding would “give Ukraine the means to defend itself for at least three years”.
Mr Zelenskiy said in comments to reporters published on Monday that he had been told by European counterparts of their full support. “We’ll meet this week,” he said. “The Europeans will have a unified position with Ukraine – and that’s very important.”
But Belgium, which holds the vast majority of Russia’s frozen assets at the Euroclear central depository, has said it will not sign off on their use unless it has guarantees that other member states will foot the bill if Moscow’s legal challenges succeeded.
The Kremlin this month strongly condemned the idea of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, describing it as “the unlawful seizure of Russian property – or, to put it simply, theft”, and threatening legal action.
EU governments are also still at odds over the next round of sanctions against Moscow, which include a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas from January, with Slovakia objecting until it secures further concessions.
Countries with the exception of Slovakia and Hungary on Monday agreed on a complete European phase-out of Russian gas by 2028.
The eventual ban would allow the EU to “gain its energy independence” and “not least to support Ukraine”, said EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen.
Bratislava would not lift its veto until the commission promised to take action to cut energy costs and support the bloc’s ailing car industry, said Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico.
In a bid to placate Slovakia, commission president Ursula von der Leyen has offered to review a landmark 2035 ban on new cars with combustion engines by the end of this year and to help alleviate the high cost of energy. But diplomats said that Bratislava had not relented following that offer.
Western leaders in the “coalition of the willing” will also hold a call with Mr Zelenskiy on Friday over more military support.
After Mr Trump refused to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range missiles last week, Mr Zelenskiy said he hoped European allies would step up, pointing that “such weapons aren’t held only by the United States”.
“If the United States takes a step forward, the Russians understand that I can arrange Tomahawks and other necessary weapons in Europe as well,” Mr Zelenskiy said.
He said he had briefed European leaders “immediately after” the meeting Mr Trump: “They want to address him with such requests themselves. We remain in constant co-ordination.”
Mr Trump on Monday said “it’s turned out to be nasty, because you have two leaders [Mr Zelenskiy and Mr Putin] that truly hate each other. You can’t have it all. They hate each other beyond all else, and it actually makes it a little bit difficult”.
Asked whether he had told Russia to stop its attacks on Ukrainian civilians, he said: “I did.” – Additional reporting by Anastasia Stognei
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