PARIS/LONDON/WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) – The leaders of Britain, France and Germany held a call on Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss Washington’s latest peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine, in what they said was a “critical moment” in the process.
Trump, asked by reporters about the call, said he had a spirited exchange with the leaders and was urged to send U.S. representatives to a weekend meeting in Europe with Zelenskiy to discuss the way forward.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a U.S.-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favourable to Moscow.
French President Emmanuel Macron, arriving late for a public debate in western France, said he had just held a 40-minute discussion with Trump and his European colleagues to see how to move forward on “a subject that concerns all of us”.
Separate statements from the so-called E3 powers said the leaders had commended the Trump administration’s mediation efforts to achieve a robust and lasting peace in Ukraine, nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
“(The leaders) agreed that this is a critical moment for Ukraine, for its people and for the common security of the Euro-Atlantic region,” the British readout said.
Trump said he and the leaders had “pretty strong words” on the call, which he declined to detail. He complained that Zelenskiy has not held an election in Ukraine in years and that Ukraine is facing a “massive corruption situation.”
“We said before we go to a meeting we want to know some things,” Trump said. “They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with.”
UKRAINE UNDER INCREASED US PRESSURE TO AGREE PEACE DEAL
Britain, France and Germany, along with other European partners and Ukraine, have been working frantically in the last few weeks to refine the original U.S. proposals that envisaged Kyiv giving up swathes of its territory to Moscow, abandoning its ambition to join NATO and accepting limits on the size of its armed forces.
Among the key elements the E3 powers are trying to hammer out are potential security guarantees for Ukraine once there is a peace accord.
“Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days,” the E3 statements said.
Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted an adviser in Zelenskiy’s office as saying the Ukrainian negotiating team was working on a concrete proposal in response to the latest 20-point U.S.-backed peace plan.
“We are working on it with the American side and our partners. Security guarantees are a separate section – our views are prepared and under discussion with the guarantors,” it said.
Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz met Zelenskiy in London on Monday and pledged their continued support for Kyiv, amid concerns that it may be forced into accepting many of Russia’s demands.
Leaders from the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” group of nations backing Ukraine will hold a follow-up meeting via videocall on Thursday, the French presidency said. Zelenskiy said he would also attend that call.
Separately, Macron and Starmer will join Merz for further talks next Monday in Berlin, two European Union diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by John Irish in Paris, Sarah Marsh in Berlin, William James in London and Steve Holland in WashingtonEditing by Peter Graff, Gareth Jones and Stephen Coates)
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