Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the war situation in Ukraine “volatile” and “dangerous” and accused Russia of having no “real intention” to participate in peace talks.
Her comments came shortly after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “too early” to talk about a peace deal.
Von der Leyen said Ukraine needed strong security guarantees to deter any further attacks, arguing that Russia still adheres to its post-World War II mindset and views the continent as a “sphere of influence.”
She was speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg as the United States stepped up efforts to broker a deal between Kiev and Moscow.
Talks in Geneva and Abu Dhabi this week resulted in Ukraine agreeing to the “essence” of a peace deal, after it made changes to the original 28-point plan that was widely criticized as being heavily biased in favor of Russia.
Zelensky said the new draft represented the “right approach” but serious points of contention with Russia remained and the Kremlin has played down proposals for compromise.
“I want to make it clear from the beginning: Europe will stand with Ukraine and support Ukraine every step of the way,” von der Leyen said in a speech to EU lawmakers.
She also raised the issue of Russian frozen assets worth €210bn (£185bn) held by European financial institutions.
Belgium currently opposes the idea of transferring the assets to Ukraine because it fears violating international law and being forced to foot the bill if Moscow mounts a legal challenge.
Other countries are also concerned that repayments of frozen assets could end up falling on European taxpayers – although von der Leyen sought to allay those concerns, saying she could not imagine such a scenario.
She added that the committee had prepared an “options document” and a legal text. EU leaders are expected to agree on a decision to freeze assets by the end of December.
The tense diplomacy of the past few days has largely excluded Europeans, who last week were blindsided by a 28-point U.S.-Russian peace plan that included proposals to hand over territory still under Ukrainian control to Russia and limit the size of Ukraine’s military.
European leaders have since insisted they, too, need a seat at the negotiating table before any final agreement can be reached on how to end the war. On Tuesday, a so-called “coalition of the willing” chaired by France and Britain met to discuss security issues.
“Whatever the design of the future peace treaty, it is clear that much of the implementation will depend on the EU and its NATO partners,” von der Leyen told parliament.Without Ukraine, there would be no Ukraine. There is no Europe without Europe. There is no NATO without NATO,” she said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also insisted that Europe “is not a pawn but a sovereign actor with its own interests and values.”
As it stands, however, the Europeans will not participate in the next round of negotiations, and Russia has rejected the participation of European leaders.
“In my opinion, European intervention in all these matters is completely unnecessary,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Instead, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow next week, while U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will travel to Ukraine.
The United States has been conducting “shuttle diplomacy” between Russia and Ukraine since the start of Trump’s second term earlier this year, but such efforts have so far failed to produce meaningful results.
Zelensky said on Tuesday he hoped to hold direct talks with Trump by the end of the month to discuss key differences between Ukraine’s and Russia’s positions, such as the sovereignty of eastern Ukraine, NATO membership and the size of its military.
Trump, meanwhile, posted on social media that he would be ready to meet with Zelensky and Putin soon, but “only if a deal to end this war is finalized or in its final stages.”
