Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets the new American administration in Germany in Germany in the wake of the conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Friday, who makes kyiv and his European allies fear a regulation of the war to their detriment.
The first telephone discussion between American and Russian leaders this week to display their desire to immediately negotiate on Ukraine, followed by a succession of shattering statements from the White House tenant, marked a spectacular acceleration of initiatives to put an end at the conflict triggered by Moscow almost three years ago
Under maximum pressure and while the military situation on the front continues to deteriorate, Volodymyr Zelensky is expected at the Munich on security conference, an annual appointment of a diplomatic elite sounded by Washington’s desire to force negotiations with Russia.
He had to meet on Friday the American vice-president JD Vance and the chief of diplomacy Marco Rubio. The latter flew to Munich on the night of Thursday to Friday after going around in flight due to a mechanical problem.
During his conversation with Vladimir Putin, the American president agreed to launch negotiations “Immediate” on Ukraine, and promised a person in person with his Russian counterpart.
Russians in Munich?
New feeling a few hours before the conference, organized until Sunday: a meeting will be held in Munich between “High officials from Russia, Ukraine and the United States”said Donald Trump.
US vice-president JD Vance and his family arrive in Munich to participate in the Safety Confession (MSC), February 13, 2025 / Tobias Schwarz / AFP
But kyiv immediately replied that “Discussions with the Russians are not envisaged”.
After the shock wave caused by the phone call that replaces Vladimir Putin in an equal relationship with the United States, the Ukrainian camp is playing its all.
kyiv claims a “Just peace” And security guarantees on the part of Europeans and Americans, in particular the sending of troops to guarantee peace.
Volodymyr Zelensky a dit avoir “Warning” International leaders on the credibility of Vladimir Putin when the latter claims to be ready to end the war.
“Keep your head cool and don’t be influenced by emotions. The interests of Ukraine have priority and will remain so ”said on Telegram the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak.
Russia, for its part, wants to annex territories it occupies but also attack the “Roots” conflict, namely the presence of NATO at its borders.
Ukraine as Europeans fear that negotiations will take place behind their backs.
Volodymyr Zelensky demands that the United States, which has been the main military support of his country since the start of the war, first discussed with Ukraine. “And it is only after these meetings, after the development of a plan to stop Putin, that I think it will be right to speak to the Russians”he said on Thursday.
Because Washington’s plans for the future of Ukraine are far from the aspirations of the country: the United States now hammers Ukraine’s membership in NATO is not realistic, just like a return of this Country at its borders before 2014, that is to say with Crimea, annexed that year by Moscow.
“Your problem”
France has said its fear that the new American administration final “Give in everything” to Russia.
German police set up safety barriers in front of the Bayerischer Hof hotel, where the Munich security conference is held on February 13, 2025 / Michaela Stache / AFP
“A peace that is a capitulation” would be “Bad news for everyone”warned French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday.
“The only question at this stage is: +in a sincere, sustainable, sustainable way, President Putin is ready for a cease-fire on this basis”he noted.
The EU Kaja Kallas diplomacy was even paralleled between the current crisis and 1938, when the Munich agreements had led to the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia by Hitlerian Germany.
For Frédéric Enlord, lecturer at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, it is a return to the Cold War scheme: Moscow and Washington “When there was conflict, when there was a tension, systematically settled the question between them”he said to AFP.
The shock is all the greater among the leaders of European countries as the Americans have told them now to ensure most of the support for kyiv, and that they had to build their investments in the defense.
According to Timothy Ash, professor of European studies in Oxford, Washington’s message to Europe “Is very clear on Ukraine: this is your problem. We will help you conclude an agreement with Russia, but it is up to you to follow up ”.
Faced with a Donald Trump which upsets multilateralism and international order, the debates should be intense between the dozens of heads of government, diplomats and high-grades gathered in Munich.
The metropolis in southern Germany is on the teeth after an attack on the raised car committed Thursday morning in the city center for which an Afghan national was arrested. Thirty people were injured, some of which seriously.
(tagstotranslate) Rapper