European leaders demand involvement in any peace talks on war in Ukraine

European leaders on November 21 stressed that Ukraine’s armed forces must remain strong enough to defend the country’s sovereignty and warned that any agreement affecting Europe, the EU, or NATO must have their consent or a broader allied consensus.

Their remarks came as capitals across Europe scrambled to respond to a proposed US-Russian peace plan formulated without Kyiv or European involvement, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

The draft plan, according to officials familiar with its contents, would require Ukraine to cede significant territory, sharply reduce the size of its military, and surrender certain categories of weaponry — terms that closely mirror the Kremlin’s longstanding maximalist demands and which Kyiv has consistently rejected.

Stefan Kornelius, spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said in a statement that Merz, along with the leaders of France and the United Kingdom, had assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a call on November 21 of “their continued and full support on the path to a lasting and just peace.”

While the statement did not directly reference the US-Russian proposal, it made clear that European leaders welcomed the US efforts to end the war but insisted on the need to protect "vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term."

Those interests, the statement said, include ensuring that “the Ukrainian armed forces must remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine’s sovereignty,” and that “any agreement affecting European states, the European Union, or NATO requires the consent of European partners or a consensus among allies.”

By Sabina Mammadli