BRUSSELS, Belgium, Aug 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - EU foreign ministers will hold 
emergency talks on Monday to discuss their next steps before talks between 
presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, as Europe fears any deal made 
without Ukraine could force unacceptable compromises.

The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to 
resolve the three-year war but the European Union has insisted that Kyiv and 
European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict.

The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr 
Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swathes 
of territory, which the EU has rejected.

EU foreign ministers will discuss their next steps in a meeting by video link 
on Monday at 1400 GMT, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga.

European leaders pushed hard over the weekend for Ukraine to be a part of the 
talks.

"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders 
from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland, and EU Commission 
chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put 
more pressure on Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday he hoped and assumed that 
Zelensky would attend the leaders' summit.

Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries -- Denmark, Estonia, Finland, 
Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden -- also said no decisions 
should be taken without Kyiv's involvement.

Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added 
in a joint statement.

Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said the United States is working to 
"schedule" a meeting between Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian 
counterparts.

- 'Testing Putin' -

Asked on CNN if Zelensky could be present, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew 
Whitaker responded that "yes, I certainly think it's possible."

"Certainly, there can't be a deal that everybody that's involved in it 
doesn't agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it's a high priority to get this 
war to end."

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and 
Russia to end the war had to include Ukraine and the bloc.

"The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal 
between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a 
matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," she added.

As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow has demanded Kyiv pull its 
forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU 
military support and be excluded from joining NATO.

Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign 
territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back 
would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.

Zelensky thanked those countries backing Kyiv's position in his Sunday 
evening address.

"Clear support for the fact that everything concerning Ukraine must be 
decided with Ukraine's participation. Just as it should be with every other 
independent state."