Russia’s court

European leaders hardened their tone on Thursday in reaction to the phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, reminding the American president that any peace settlement will require Europe’s involvement to work in practice.

Wednesday’s call, in which the two leaders agreed to “immediately” start negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, has gone down badly across the continent and raised fears that Europe would be completely removed from the nascent peace process.

Securing a seat at the table has always been a top priority for EU leaders, who, in the early months of the war, granted Ukraine candidate status to join the 27-member bloc.

“If there is an agreement made behind our backs, it will simply not work. Because you need, for any kind of deal, any kind of agreement, you need the Europeans to implement this deal, you need the Ukrainians to implement this deal,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative, while attending a ministerial meeting at NATO

António Costa, the president of the European Council, issued a similar warning to the White House, arguing peace in Ukraine and security in Europe are “inseparable.”

“Peace cannot be a simple ceasefire. Russia must no longer be a threat to Ukraine, to Europe, to international security,” Costa said. “There will be no credible and successful negotiations, no lasting peace, without Ukraine and without the EU.”

The chief spokesperson of the European Commission said “There can be no discussion about Europe’s and Ukraine’s security without Europe” and described the Trump-Putin call as “the beginning of a process,” with more steps to follow

The spokesperson confirmed Washington did not reach out to Brussels before the phone call took place on Wednesday. “There was no coordination regarding this call in particular,” the spokesperson said.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda declared: “The aggressor remains an aggressor, and the victim – the country under attack – must be supported. A truce is not a sustainable peace. We must stop the aggressor now and forever.”

Meanwhile, in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not mince words, resorting to the upper case to vent his frustration at Trump’s diplomacy.

“All we need is peace. A JUST PEACE. Ukraine, Europe and the United States should work on this together. TOGETHER,” Tusk wrote

Later, Tusk held a call with Zelenskyy, Costa, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The exchange als included Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s CDU who is favoured to become the next Chancellor.

“The message is clear: Ukraine, Europe and the US must be fully united and engage in peace talks,” Tusk said.

Zelenskyy, who held a separate call with Trump, made it clear Ukraine would not “accept any agreement without us” and called for Europe to be part of the negotiations.

“Europeans should also be at the table as part of our continent, and we will undoubtedly become European Union members. Europe has helped us significantly,” Zelenskyy said.

“Everyone understands the likely format: the US, Ukraine, and Russia. But where is Europe? I am also very interested in including Europe.”

Zelenskyy admitted it was “not pleasant” to learn Trump had spoken with Putin, a man wanted for war crimes, before speaking with him, but he did not interpret the phone call between the two leaders as “prioritising talks with Russia.”

‘It plays to Russia’s court’

Europe’s fears have been compounded by Trump’s flattering choice of words.

His social media post after the phone call heaped praise on Putin and Russia, highlighting “the great history” and “strengths” of both nations. Notably, the post made no mention of which country was invading which. Instead, Trump referred to “the War with Russia/Ukraine,” a vague term reminiscent of China’s official language.

After the call, a reporter asked the American president if he considered Ukraine an “equal member” of the peace process. Trump demurred and said: “It’s an interesting question. I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed.”

“That was not a good war to go into,” he added, without saying who went in first.

His comments were preceded by a headline-making speech from his Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, who dismissed Ukraine’s desired return to pre-2014 borders and accession into NATO as “unrealistic” goals that should be excluded from any settlement.

Hegseth also ruled out providing any peacekeeping mission with protection under NATO’s Article 5 of collective defence, the alliance’s most powerful deterrence, dashing hopes that any Western country would be ever willing to put boots on the ground.

For Kaja Kallas, Hegseth’s intervention revealed the White House’s cards far too soon. Russia has long opposed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, which Putin has invoked as justification for launching the full-scale invasion almost three years ago.

“Membership in NATO is the strongest security guarantee there is. And actually, it’s also the cheapest guarantee there is,” Kallas said.

“We shouldn’t take anything off the table before the negotiations have even started because it plays to Russia’s court and it’s what they want. Why are we giving them everything they want even before the negotiations start?”

The Kremlin reacted positively to the phone call, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing Trump’s position as “much more appealing.”

“I am sure that in Kyiv, Brussels, Paris and London they are now reading Trump’s lengthy statement on his conversation with Putin with horror and cannot believe their eyes,” Pushkov wrote on a messaging app.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has antagonised other EU countries by adopting a Russian-friendly stance and visiting Putin in Moscow, harshly criticised the joint statement released bys European foreign minister on Wednesday night, where they instead that “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”

“You can’t request a seat at the negotiating table. You have to earn it! Through strength, good leadership and smart diplomacy,” Orbán said. “The position of Brussels – to support killing as long as it takes – is morally and politically unacceptable.