EU must be involved in Ukraine peace talks – German FM

Annalena Baerbock has complained that US President Donald Trump sidelined the bloc in his recent phone talks with Moscow and Kiev 

The EU and Kiev must be involved in any peace talks on ending the Ukraine conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said, claiming that peace can only be achieved collectively.    

The remarks came shortly after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute conversation on Wednesday, marking the first time a US president is known to have spoken with Putin since Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Following the call, Trump said the two leaders had agreed to instruct their respective teams to begin negotiations to resolve the crisis “immediately.”  

Trump also spoke with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky the same day, although after the call with Putin. Meanwhile, Trump’s decision to discuss a peace plan directly with the Russian president has left EU officials feeling sidelined.   

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday, the German foreign minister criticized Trump’s team for not informing her about the calls in advance.   

“We can’t have talks without involving Ukraine. Peace in Europe is at stake, that’s why we Europeans need to be brought in,” Baerbock said.  

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“This is the way the Trump administration operates. That is why constant mutual communication is needed with the various players. That, too, is different from other times,” Baerbock said in an apparent reference to the previous US administration. “This is not how others do foreign policy, but this is now the reality.”   

On Wednesday, the Weimar+ group comprising France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, UK, European External Action Service, and European Commission demanded to be part of the negotiations. A lasting peace in Ukraine is a “necessary condition for a strong transatlantic security,” the group said in a joint statement following their meeting in Paris.   

“We have always underlined that … there will be no decision made on Ukraine without Ukraine,” Baerbock told reporters ahead of the group’s meeting. “Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine, and with the Europeans.”  

It is currently unclear when the negotiations will begin. Following Trump and Putin’s call, the Kremlin signaled its readiness for peace talks but stressed that the conflict’s root causes must be addressed. Moscow opposes Ukraine’s NATO bid, citing it as a key factor in the 2022 escalation, and insists on Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.