Zelensky wins EU, NATO backing as he seeks place at Trump-Putin talks

August 11 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky won diplomatic backing from Europe and the NATO alliance ahead of a Russia-U.S. summit this week where Kyiv fears President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump may try to dictate terms for ending the 3-1/2-year war.

Trump, who for weeks had been threatening new sanctions against Russia for failing to halt the war, announced instead on Friday that he would meet Putin on August 15 in Alaska. A White House official has said Trump is open to Zelensky attending but preparations are underway for only a bilateral meeting. Russian strikes injured at least 12 in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, the country's foreign affairs ministry said on Sunday.

Zelensky, responding to the strike, said, "That is why sanctions are needed, pressure is needed." The Kremlin leader last week ruled out meeting Zelensky, saying conditions for such an encounter were "unfortunately still far" from being met. Trump said a potential deal would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both (sides)", compounding Ukrainian fears that it may face pressure to surrender land.

Zelensky says any decisions taken without Ukraine will be "stillborn" and unworkable. On Saturday the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said any diplomatic solution must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe. "The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday. "Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security." EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss next steps, she said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told U.S. network ABC News that Friday's summit "will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end". He added: "It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future."

Russia holds nearly a fifth of the country. Rutte said a deal could not include legal recognition of Russian control over Ukrainian land, although it might include de facto recognition. He compared it to the situation after World War Two when Washington accepted that the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were de facto controlled by the Soviet Union but did not legally recognize their annexation.

Zelensky said: "The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today." A European official said Europe had come up with a counterproposal to Trump's but declined to provide details. Russian officials accused Europe of trying to thwart Trump's efforts to end the war. "The Euro-imbeciles are trying to prevent American efforts to help resolve the Ukrainian conflict," former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev posted on social media.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a vituperative statement that the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union resembled "necrophilia". Roman Alekhin, a Russian war blogger, said Europe had been reduced to the role of a spectator. "If Putin and Trump reach an agreement directly, Europe will be faced with a fait accompli. Kyiv - even more so," he said.

Source: reuters.com