Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Europe’s presidents support Trump demand on freezing frontline


(MENAFN) European leaders have echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to halt fighting in Ukraine and use the existing front line as the basis for peace negotiations, though Russia has dismissed the proposal outright.

In a joint statement signed by 11 heads of state, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the leaders said they “strongly support” Trump’s position that “the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the notion on Tuesday, saying Moscow was only interested in achieving a “long-term, sustainable peace.” He implied that freezing the front line would simply result in a temporary ceasefire.

The European statement accused Moscow of employing “stalling tactics,” underscoring persistent doubts about Russia’s willingness to pursue genuine peace.

Trump, who has previously been viewed as conciliatory toward Russia, is now preparing for direct talks with President Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Yet, reports indicate that a preparatory meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lavrov has been delayed.

Trump spoke with Putin by phone last week, one day before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. According to several sources cited by Western media, the U.S. president pressed Zelensky to concede parts of the Donbas region—comprising Donetsk and Luhansk—as part of a broader peace deal. Some reports described the exchange as heated, though Zelensky later called the talks “frank.”

Ukraine’s leader has repeatedly ruled out withdrawing from the east, warning that Russia could use any territorial gains to launch further offensives. “I explained during my visit to Washington last week that Ukraine's position has not changed,” Zelensky reiterated Monday.

Although Moscow controls nearly all of Luhansk, Kyiv retains about one-quarter of Donetsk, including the key cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.

Trump has since clarified that he did not urge Zelensky to surrender territory, but reaffirmed his belief that a ceasefire along current lines could stop the bloodshed. “Let it be cut the way it is,” he said Monday. “It's cut up right now. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia... I said: cut and stop at the battle line. Go home. Stop fighting, stop killing people.”

Despite Trump’s push, the Kremlin maintains its stance against freezing the conflict.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposal “has been raised many times,” but insisted that “the consistency of Russia's position doesn't change,” referring to demands for the full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from occupied territories.

Lavrov repeated on Tuesday that “the root causes of the conflict” must be addressed first — a phrase widely interpreted as code for Russia’s maximalist terms, including recognition of its control over Donbas and Ukraine’s demilitarisation, conditions Kyiv and its allies reject outright.

Peskov also downplayed speculation about an imminent Trump-Putin summit, saying, “We cannot postpone what has not been finalised.” Plans for a meeting between Lavrov and Rubio remain uncertain.

A potential summit in Budapest would also require at least one EU country to allow Putin’s aircraft to transit its airspace — a challenge given the International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest. Poland and Lithuania have already said they would enforce the warrant if Putin’s plane entered their territory, while Bulgaria has hinted it might permit passage. “When efforts are made for peace, it is only logical that all sides contribute to making such a meeting possible,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said.

Trump and Putin last met in August in Alaska during a hastily arranged summit that produced few tangible outcomes beyond ending Putin’s isolation from Western leaders.

In the months that followed, Trump proposed direct talks between Putin and Zelensky, but Moscow insisted such a meeting could only occur once its political demands were addressed — an impasse that led the idea to fade quietly.

Since beginning his second term, Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with the drawn-out war. He recently described the conflict, now entering its fourth year, as “difficult” to resolve.

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