European foreign ministers held an emergency meeting Monday where they discussed how to deal with President Trump’s push to end the three-year Ukraine war — but they seemingly still can’t agree on a new aid package for Kyiv.
“It’s clear that the statements coming from [the] United States make us all worried,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters on Monday after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in the Belgian capital Brussels.
The draft document produced on Monday does not include a price tag, although an earlier version of the agreement earmarked almost $6.3 billion.
Politico Europe reported the aid tranche could be up to $21 billion.
However, Hungary’s foreign minister warned that the NATO member would not support new payments to Ukraine, and instead said that Europe should back Trump’s push for peace.
A number of Europe’s leaders have warned that the region is entering a new era following what many see as President Trump’s sidelining of them with last week’s peace talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia as well as his direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Sunday, the winner of Germany’s general election Friedrich Merz questioned whether NATO would still exist in its “current form” by the summer as he called on Europe to quickly establish its own independent defense capability.
“The era that started at the fall of the Berlin Wall is now over,” the Dutch Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp told reporters on Monday when asked about the remarks by Germany’s likely next chancellor.
“As Europeans, we need to organize, not only within the EU but with the Brits and the Norwegians and other countries that want to participate, to face the new challenges that are presented to us, also by Trump,” he said.
“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin, but if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” Kallas said at the meeting, held on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has dramatically veered away from former President Joe Biden’s ardent support for Ukraine — and has also criticized European governments for a lack of spending on defense.
Trump has also echoed statements made by Elon Musk that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should call fresh elections or step down.
An extraordinary summit is due to be held on March 6 to agree on the new round of support for Ukraine this year.
That is expected to include at least 1.5 million rounds of large-caliber artillery ammunition, missiles, air defense systems, drones and other support, reports Euro News.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy welcomed a slew of European and other leaders to a summit in Kyiv to commemorate the start in 2022 of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two when Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“Putin will not gift us this peace, nor will he give it to us in exchange for anything. We have to win peace with strength, wisdom and unity — with our cooperation,” Zelenskiy said.
The visitors to Kyiv on Monday included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
There was no sign of U.S. representation.
— With Post wires
