Europe ready to take the lead in Ukraine negotiations — Germany explains the conditions

European leaders have declared their readiness to take a leading role in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

This was announced by the spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Stefan Cornelius, following a meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in London, Politico reports.

According to Cornelius, what is fundamentally new is that the negotiation process, which until now has been led primarily by the United States, is now “gaining new momentum in Europe.” He stressed, however, that everything is happening in close coordination with Washington. The European initiative to take a leading role emerged at a moment when the US is increasingly focused on ending the American-Israeli war with Iran.

Following the London meeting, Merz, his counterparts from France and the United Kingdom, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a joint statement. In it, they called for “direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia with the active participation of the US and Europe” and put forward five conditions for achieving peace. These include an immediate and complete ceasefire, the use of the current line of contact as a starting point for negotiations, and “reliable and legally binding” security guarantees for Ukraine. The document also states that Russian assets must remain frozen until the Kremlin “ends its war of aggression and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused by the war.”

European leaders will continue discussing their approach to potential peace negotiations at the G7 meeting in Évian and at the European Council summit in Brussels next week. “We need the broadest possible support from all European partners in order to truly move toward peace,” Cornelius said.

At the same time, it remains unclear whether Putin is prepared to sit down at the negotiating table with European leaders, who have so far been excluded from direct talks despite their long-standing desire to play a greater role in shaping a possible settlement. Putin had previously proposed Kremlin-friendly former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a potential negotiator. That proposal was quickly rejected by European capitals, where it was widely seen as Putin’s attempt to divide the continent and portray himself as a good-faith negotiating partner, knowing the offer was unlikely to be accepted.

Cornelius said it “may take weeks or even months” to bring Putin to the negotiating table, and that “only a strong Ukraine and pressure on Russia will force Putin to back down.”

“We also need to build a willingness to engage in dialogue and agree on the conditions under which such negotiations can take place at all. All of this is part of the preparation. We are in a phase of reorientation,” Cornelius stated.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, for his part, said that Putin has likely missed his last chance to exit the war without being defeated. “Things will only get worse for Russia. Battlefield losses will continue to mount. The defeats will become increasingly humiliating,” he wrote.