In Brussels, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The main topic of discussion was preparations for the meeting of European leaders with U.S. President Donald Trump, which will take place tomorrow in Washington.
“It's crucial that Europe is as united now as it was at the very beginning, as it was in 2022 when the full-scale war began. This unity really helps to reach real peace, and it must stay strong,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
Ursula von der Leyen assured that the EU will support Ukraine as long as necessary to achieve a just and lasting peace.
The Head of State stressed that the first priority is to stop the killings. The Russian leader has many demands, but not all of them are known.
“If there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It is impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it’s necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal. We’ll talk about it in Washington,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
He also emphasized that real negotiations can start where the front line is now. According to the Head of State, any territorial issues must be discussed solely by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in a trilateral format: Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. The President underlined that Russia has been unable to capture the Donetsk region for 12 years, and the Constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory.
Special attention during the meeting was paid to security guarantees, in particular the readiness of the United States to cooperate with Europe and the concrete components of the security architecture. This includes a security element that would work like Article 5 of NATO, as well as a strong Ukrainian army and Ukraine’s EU membership.
“There can be no division between Ukraine and Moldova – that would simply be a very bad move, to my mind. If such a division takes place, it will automatically mean that Europe is divided on Ukraine, that Europe does not have a common and strong position on guarantees. Many in Europe see that division will only make things worse,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
In addition, the Head of State and the President of the European Commission discussed defense and agreed to work more actively on programs such as SAFE.
Separate attention was given to sanctions pressure on Russia and the preparation of the 19th package of sanctions. According to Ursula von der Leyen, it may be adopted as early as September.
The parties also discussed support for the school meal program. Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for assistance in improving it.
