European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has described the situation surrounding the war in Ukraine as “volatile” and “dangerous” and accused Russia of having no “real intent” of engaging in peace talks.
Her comments came shortly before Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “premature” to speak about striking a peace deal.
Von der Leyen said Ukraine would need strong security guarantees capable of deterring any further attacks, arguing that Russia still upheld a post-World War Two mindset and saw the European continent as a “sphere of influence”.
She was addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg as the US ramped up efforts to mediate a deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Talks this week in Geneva and then Abu Dhabi have resulted in Ukraine agreeing to the “essence” of a peace deal, after changes were made to an initial 28-point plan widely criticised as heavily slanted towards Russia.
Zelensky said the new draft represented “the right approach” – but serious points of contention with Russia remain and the Kremlin has consistently played down suggestions of a compromise.
In her speech to European Union lawmakers, von der Leyen said: “I want to be clear from the very outset: Europe will stand with Ukraine and support Ukraine every step of the way.”
She also referenced the issue of €210bn (£185bn) worth of Russian frozen assets held in European financial institutions.
Belgium is currently opposing the idea of diverting these assets to Ukraine, as it fears contravening international law and being made to foot the bill should Moscow mount a legal challenge.
Other countries too are concerned the repayment of the frozen assets could eventually fall to European taxpayers – although von der Leyen sought to allay those fears, saying she could not picture such a scenario.
An “options paper” and a legal text had been prepared by the Commission, she added. A decision on the frozen assets is expected to be agreed by EU leaders in late December.
The last days of intense diplomacy have largely excluded the Europeans, who last week were blindsided by the US-Russia 28-point peace plan, which included proposals to hand territory to Russia still under Ukrainian control and limit the size of Ukraine’s military.
European leaders have since insisted they will need a seat at the table too, before any final agreement over how to end the war can be reached. On Tuesday a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” chaired by France and the UK was convened to discuss security guarantees.
“Whatever the design of a future peace treaty, it is clear that much of the implementation will come down to the European Union and its Nato partners,” von der Leyen told Parliament. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. Nothing about Europe without Europe. Nothing about Nato without Nato,” she said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also insisted Europe was “not a pawn, but a sovereign actor, with its own interests and values.”
However, as it stands Europeans are not set to be included in the next round of talks and Russia has batted off involvement by European leaders.
“The Europeans meddling in all these affairs is, as I see it, completely unnecessary,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Instead, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow next week, while the US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will go to Ukraine.
The US has been engaging in “shuttle diplomacy” between Russia and Ukraine since the start of Trump’s second term in office at the start of the year – but so far such efforts have failed to yield meaningful results.
Zelensky said on Tuesday he wanted direct talks with Trump before the end of the month to discuss the main divergences between the Ukrainian and the Russian positions, such as sovereignty over Ukraine’s eastern regions, membership of Nato and the size of its army.
Meanwhile, Trump posted a message on social media saying he would be ready to meet both Zelensky and Putin soon, but “ONLY when the deal to end this war is FINAL or, in its final stages”.
