Paris, France — European leaders Monday sought to overcome differences at emergency Paris talks on responding to a shock policy shift on the war in Ukraine by the new US administration of Donald Trump, as Germany bristled at suggestions troops could be deployed.
With European policymakers still reeling from US Vice President JD Vance's withering attack on the European Union at the annual Munich Security Forum, key leaders attended the meeting at the Elysee Palace called at the last minute by President Emmanuel Macron.
In the most concrete sign yet of the US policy shift, Washington and Moscow's top diplomats on Tuesday were due to have the first such face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a clear sign that Trump wants to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin in from the cold.
Facing one of their biggest challenges in years, European leaders fear that Trump wants to make peace with Russia in talks that will not even involve Kyiv, let alone the European Union.
They now need to weigh measures including ramping up defense spending to be less dependent on the US, to sending troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers when a ceasefire is agreed.
Macron held telephone talks with Trump just before the summit, the French presidency said. There was no joint statement after the meeting or major announcements, which participants said needed to be left for forums like the EU or NATO.
"Everyone at this meeting is aware that transatlantic relations, the NATO alliance and our friendship with the United States have entered a new phase. We all see that," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said "Ukraine deserves peace through strength" and this should be "respectful of its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, with strong security guarantees."
"Ready and willing," was how NATO chief Mark Rutte described Europe's position after the meeting. "The details will need to be decided but the commitment is clear."
