Ukraine Calls For Europe Army Ahead Of Putin-Trump Talks In Saudi Arabia
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST/MUNICH/RIYADH (Worthy News) – Ukraine’s president calls for the creation of an “army of Europe” amid fears the United States and Russia will decide on his nation’s future at a meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders in Saudi Arabia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday that U.S. Vice-President JD Vance suggested this week that the old relationship between Europe and America was “ending” and that Europeans need “to adjust to that.”
However, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine would “never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement” after Donald J. Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks.
Saudi Arabia confirmed Friday that it welcomed the idea of them meeting in the Kingdom.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia commends the phone call that took place between President Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, on 12 February 2025. [Riyadh welcomes] the announcement regarding the possibility of holding a summit attended by their excellencies the two Presidents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Foreign Ministry stressed in a statement.
“The Kingdom expresses its welcome to hosting a summit in Saudi Arabia,” the ministry added, stressing “its ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Trump on Wednesday, after speaking to Putin, said they agreed to “immediately” start negotiations to end the three-year-long war in Ukraine that is believed to have killed and injured more than 1 million people. He also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy.
OVAL OFFICE
Separately talking to reporters at the Oval Office in the White House, Trump said he could meet Putin in the “not too distant future” to end the “bloody horrible war.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that arranging a meeting between the two leaders could take several months.
Yet on Saturday, Worthy News learned that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call with Russia’s foreign minister “building on” Wednesday’s call between Trump and Putin.
However, Zelenskyy expressed his opposition to being left out of the talks and added that Europe should also have a seat at the table.
Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine said Europe would be consulted but would not participate in talks between the United States and Russia if and when they happen.
In remarks likely to raise concern in Ukraine and among European allies, Keith Kellogg complained that previous negotiations “had failed” because too many parties had been involved.
“It may be like chalk on the blackboard; it may grate a little bit, but I am telling you something that is really quite honest,” he stressed on Saturday.
TENSIONS GROWING
The Trump approach to Russia’s full scale of Ukraine has led to tensions with Kyiv.
Zelenskyy blocked a Trump-led deal that would give the U.S. access to vast amounts of Ukrainian natural resources because it lacked “security guarantees” for Kyiv and “does not protect us.”
Trump pushed for access to rare minerals in Ukraine in return for aid or compensation for the support Washington had already provided.
Earlier, the recently appointed U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a “factory reset” for the NATO military alliance, showing the alliance needed to be “robust,” “strong,” and “real.”
However, Zelenskyy said: “Let’s be honest. Now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say ‘no’ to Europe on an issue that threatens it.”
The Ukrainian leader recalled that a “few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at the table – that says a lot.”
Zelenskyy warned his audience that “the old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.” He added “Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military—an army of Europe.”
IDEA REJECTED
The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, quickly rebuffed the idea.
Yet, several EU leaders initially proposed the concept of a European army, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, who long backed the 27-nation bloc’s own military to reduce its reliance on the United States.
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its third anniversary, Trump and Hegseth have both said it is unlikely that Ukraine will join the NATO military alliance.
The US defense secretary also said a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic, referring to lands annexed by Russia.
Zelensky said, however, that he would “not take NATO membership for Ukraine off the table.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also spoke out against a “dictated peace” in the Ukraine conflict. Talking on the Berlin Playbook Podcast on news outlet Politico, Scholz said: “The next task is to ensure that there is no dictated peace here.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shares those sentiments. “Europe urgently needs its own plan of action concerning Ukraine and our security, or else other global players will decide about our future. Not necessarily in line with our own interest,” Donald Tusk wrote on social media platform X.
“This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose”, he urged
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