Europe Warns Trump: No Ukraine Peace Deal Without Kyiv — No Land Swaps
Allies rally behind Zelensky as Trump readies Alaska meeting with Putin and floats a ceasefire plan that would let Russia keep the Donbas — a move seen as rewarding aggression.
Ukraine’s European allies rallied behind the war-torn country on Saturday, stressing the need to respect its national sovereignty and to include Kyiv in peace negotiations, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion of a land swap to end the conflict. The renewed show of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s efforts to defend his country against Moscow’s aggression comes ahead of the meeting Trump plans with Russian President Vladimir Putin set for this coming Friday in Alaska. “A diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” the leaders of the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said in a joint statement issued late Saturday. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they said. “We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” the leaders stressed. Trump said on Friday that there will be “some swapping of territories” as part of a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine, a proposition that was quickly rejected by Zelensky. Zelensky said Kyiv is “ready to work together with President Trump,” but any decisions made without Ukraine are “unworkable,” he added. Trump is open to holding a trilateral summit in Alaska that would include Zelenskyy, a White House official told reporters on Saturday. But Washington is currently planning a bilateral meeting with Putin at his request, the official added. Ukraine and its allies have no doubts “about America’s ability to ensure that the war ends,” Zelenskyy said in a separate statement Saturday. “The president of the United States has the leverage and the determination.” Under the proposal being floated by the Trump administration, the Kremlin would agree to a freeze of the war along the contact line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russia controls less land than in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a person familiar with the matter told POLITICO. In return, Moscow would be allowed to keep the Donbas, said the person, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. European governments scrambled on Saturday to coordinate ahead of the Trump-Putin summit set for Aug. 15. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arranged an urgent meeting of European and Ukrainian officials in the U.K. to discuss the prospects for a ceasefire agreement, in a gathering that included U.S. Vice President JD Vance. In their statement late Saturday, the European leaders, emphasized that “international borders must not be changed by force” and stressed that a truce needs to be in place in order to facilitate peace talks. “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the leaders said. “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny,” they added - Politico
Russia does not plan to return occupied lands to Ukraine or make peace, the Washington Post reported. According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Russia proposed to Kyiv to give up Donbas, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in exchange for a ceasefire, but without any other proposals in return. The Kremlin does not want to return territories in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where Russian military gains have provided Moscow with a valuable land bridge to occupied Crimea, the source said - Ukrainska Pravda
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Europe lost significant time trying to appease Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump “by calling him ‘Daddy’ and what not.” He told Channel 4 News in the UK: “We did not prepare and now we are scrambling to figure out what needs to happen before the Friday summit. Well, the only thing that needs to happen is that Europe stands with Ukraine.” He questioned whether Europe had a Plan B ready in the case the U.S. and Europe diverge.
Watch my interview with BBC World News Television from Saturday. I was live from Rome commenting on the breaking news that Trump and Putin are to meet in Alaska next Friday. Near the end, I comment on which of the two leaders is likely to arrive in better shape….
Jordan will host a Jordanian-Syrian-American meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to support the rebuilding of Syria, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates says, as Damascus seeks investment deals with international companies to revive its war-ravaged economy. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and United States envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack are expected to attend, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s fledgling government has been grappling with the fallout from sectarian violence between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the southern province of Suwayda as well as Israeli strikes on Syrian soldiers and the capital, Damascus. Syria’s economy remains in tatters after nearly 14 years of war and the ouster of longtime President Bashar al-Assad in December - Al Jazeera
Vice President JD Vance has kicked off his summer vacation at a luxurious $11,000-a-week manor house in the picturesque British countryside, leaving locals none too pleased. Located in a tiny village in the Cotswolds, in the southwest of England, one of the United Kingdom’s four constituent countries, the property sits behind a 15-foot stone wall and boasts gardens of about six acres, the Daily Mail reports. Dating back to the 18th century, the building has been surrounded by Secret Service agents. The owner of the manor house set in the 'Hamptons of the UK' has had to apologise to her neighbours ahead of JD Vance's stay. As part of his 'MAGA summer' holiday, the US vice-president is set to make a visit to the Grade II-listed Oxfordshire property, accompanied by his wife Usha and children Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. It comes after a brief trip on Friday to Chevening House, the official residence of British foreign secretary David Lammy, set within 3,000 acres of North Downs countryside. Mr Lammy, 53, and Mr Vance, 41, are understood to have forged an unlikely friendship and spent time with each other's families, alongside engaging in a short, bilateral meeting.
British police have arrested 466 people at a protest in central London in support of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group on Saturday. The Metropolitan police reported on their X account that an additional eight people were arrested for other offences including five for assaults on officers. Ahead of the protest Civil Rights Group Amnesty International released a statement urging the Met police not to make arrests on peaceful protesters. In early July, Parliament passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a criminal offence to publicly support the group. The move followed an incident in June when activists broke into Royal Air Force base and damaged two tanker planes to protest against Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Supporters of Palestine Action say the ban unlawfully limits free speech. They have held protests across the UK over the past month. On Saturday, more than 500 people gathered in Parliament Square, many holding signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Police had said on their X account that they were "preparing for a busy three days of protests and events". Protest organisers Defend Our Juries claimed in a statement that only a small number of protesters were detained and that most were quickly released. They called the arrests a "major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.” The Metropolitan Police rejected this, insisting that anyone openly showing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or in the process of being arrested. Officers also noted that many in the square were passers-by, media or people not carrying placards - Euronews
At least one person in Greece has died after wildfires consumed nearly 16,000 acres of land amid a surge of fires across Europe. As blazes continue to wreak havoc across the nation for a third day, the National Observatory in Athens said that the high winds that have been fanning the flames will persist until at least Monday. Over in Italy, Italian firefighters on Sunday tackled a wildfire on the flanks of Mount Vesuvius, with all hiking routes up the volcano near Naples closed to tourists. The smoke from the fire could be seen from the Pompeii archeological site, which however remained open to tourists. Over in France, about 1,400 firefighters were deployed Saturday in the southern Aude region to prevent the country's largest wildfire in decades from reigniting, as all residents were allowed to return to their homes. France's national weather agency Meteo France placed the southern half of France on a 'high vigilance' alert for heat wave, with temperatures expected in the Aude region of up to 39 degrees Celsius on Saturday. Monday is forecast to be the 'hottest day nationwide,' according to national weather service Meteo France. In neighboring Spain, firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in Avila province, over 62 miles west of Madrid. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires - Daily Mail
Commentary: Trump–Putin Summit Looms, and Europe’s Still Looking Up To Him “Daddy”
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