French President Emmanuel Macron will host European leaders for an emergency summit on the Ukraine war and European security after United States officials suggested it would have no role in any talks on ending the conflict.
The French presidency said on Sunday local time that Macron had called for the "consultation talks" on Monday.
The leaders are expected to address the tumultuous change in the US approach to Ukraine and the attendant risks to the security of the European continent.
It comes as US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end the war, playing down European concerns of being cut out of the initial talks between Russia and the US set to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Why is the meeting being held?
US President Donald Trump stunned European allies in NATO and Ukraine last week when he announced he had held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting with them and would start a peace process.
Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, jolted Europe further on Saturday when , even after the US sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine.
Asked at a global security conference in Munich if he could assure the audience that Ukrainians and Europeans would be at the table for talks, Kellogg said: "The answer to that last question [regarding Europeans], just as you framed it, the answer is no."
Ukrainians, however, will "of course" be at the table, he said, adding it would be foolish to suggest otherwise.
This led to an immediate backlash from European leaders.
Finland's President Alexander Stubb told the same security conference: "There's no way in which we can have discussions or negotiations about Ukraine, Ukraine's future or European security structure, without Europeans."
"But this means that Europe needs to get its act together. Europe needs to talk less and do more."
Who is set to attend?
At the summit meeting on Monday will be German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa from the European Union (EU). UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also attend.
Some countries were unhappy that the meeting was only for selected leaders and not a full EU summit, EU officials said.
The French presidency sought to assuage those misgivings saying Monday's meeting could lead to other formats "with the objective of gathering all partners interested in peace and European security".
Ukraine, Europe will be part of 'real' peace talks
Rubio, America's top diplomat, played down European concerns of being cut out of the initial talks between Russia and the US that are set to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
In an interview with CBS, Rubio said a negotiation process had not yet begun in earnest, and if talks advanced, Ukrainian and other European leaders would be brought into the fold.
"President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, and in it, Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the president expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty," he said.
"Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action, so the next few weeks and days will determine whether it's serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace."
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end the war. Source: AAP / Sean Gallup / pool/EPA
Rubio noted he was due to be in Saudi Arabia anyway due to previously arranged official travel. He said the composition of the Russian delegation had not yet been finalised.
Rubio and Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and other European leaders would have no place at peace negotiations, despite Kellogg's suggestion in Munich.
"Ultimately, it will reach a point — if it's real negotiations, and we're not there yet — but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved because they're the ones that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well," Rubio said.
"We're just not there yet."
With additional reporting by Reuters.
