Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that his US counterpart Donald Trump meeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin before him would be “dangerous,” as he admitted he had no guarantees from Trump that he would be first in line in peace talks.
Zelensky spoke in a week when a phone call between Putin and Trump raised fears in Kyiv that it was being frozen out of negotiations, with the White House also downplaying the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO.
In an exchange which prompted laughter from the crowd, Zelensky also admitted to having told Trump that Putin is afraid of him.
“I told Trump that Putin is afraid of him and he heard me. And now Putin knows,” Zelensky said wryly.
The Ukrainian president added that Putin appears to be the biggest influence on NATO and reiterated that peace talks on ending the conflict could not go ahead without Kyiv’s involvement.
“Right now, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin – because his whims have the power to block NATO decisions,” Zelensky said.
“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement. And the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” he added.
“No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. No decisions about Europe without Europe. Europe must have a seat at the table when decisions about Europe are being made,” Zelensky continued.
Zelensky warned the days of America’s guaranteed support for Europe are over.
“A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at that table. That says a lot,” he said.
“The old days are over – when America supported Europe just because it always had,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader spoke the day after US Vice President JD Vance eviscerated America’s European allies at the security conference, in a speech that barely touched on the issue of Ukraine and a potential settlement of Russia.
“Yesterday here in Munich, the US vice president made it clear – decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending. From now on, things will be different, and Europe needs to adjust to that,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president called for a united European army, as he acknowledged that the US may not continue to provide military support as it once did.
“Let’s be honest – now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say ‘No’ to Europe on issues that threaten it. Many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military – an Army of Europe,” he said.