The two leaders will attempt to resolve the three-year war in the US state of Alaska on Friday, but the European Union argued that Kiev and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict, AFP reported.
The idea of the US-Russia Congress with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky raised concerns that it would require Kiev to circulate the territory the EU has rejected.
The EU Foreign Minister will discuss the next steps at a video link meeting on Monday at 1400 GMT, joined by Ukrainian counterpart Andri Sibiga.
European leaders pushed hard over the weekend for Ukraine to become part of the talks.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” Ursula von der Leyen, head of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK, Finland and the EU committee, urged Trump to put more pressure on Russia, saying in a joint statement.
German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he wanted Zelensky to attend the leader’s summit.
Nordic and Baltic leaders – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, also said that decisions should not be made without the involvement of Kiev.
Consultations on the end of the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the US is working to “schedule” a meeting between Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts.
When I asked CNN if Zelensky could exist, NATO Matthew Whitaker replied, “Yes, I think that’s certainly possible.”
“It’s true, there’s no deal where everyone involved in it doesn’t agree, and I’m clearly at the top of my own priority.”
EU diplomat Kahakaras said Ukraine and the bloc must be included in the US-Russia contract to end the war.
“The US has the power to force Russia to seriously negotiate. The contract between the US and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU. That’s the issue of Ukraine and the overall security of Europe,” she added.
As a prerequisite for a peace reconciliation, Moscow requested that Kiev separate its forces from the region, be a neutral state, avoid military support from the US and EU, and be excluded from participating in NATO.
Kiev admitted that retrieving the lands that Russia will reclaim must come through diplomacy rather than through battlefields, but that it would never recognize Russia’s rule over the sovereign realm.
MNA