Donald Trump’s ‘Operation Peace’ is moving at full speed as, according to media reports, American and Russian delegations are set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. A notable absentee from the equation is Kyiv, whose participation in the talks remains uncertain amid conflicting statements on the matter. The European Union has also been left out, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to convene EU leaders in Paris for a crisis summit over Trump’s plans to bring the nearly three-year-long war to an end.
While concrete details of the negotiations remain scarce—an encouraging sign given their sensitivity and the risks of media leaks—, what is clear is that the process is moving forward at an accelerated pace. On Wednesday the US president announced that talks to end the war in Ukraine were set to begin ‘immediately’ after separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Just hours earlier US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth had informed NATO defence ministers in Brussels that the United States was effectively shifting its strategic focus away from Europe to address threats closer to home—primarily China. The Pentagon chief also outlined Washington’s vision for a future agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine and restoring the war-torn country’s territorial integrity based on its pre-2014 borders.
The announcement was met with disappointment and anger in Kyiv, while it sent shockwaves through Brussels, which had not been informed in advance of the negotiations. EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas—one of the most ardent Russia hawks among Brussels’ elite—issued a statement, co-signed by six European NATO members, demanding a central role for the EU in the negotiations. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply criticized Brussels’ leadership, arguing that its rigid stance on the war—rejecting any negotiation attempts, shutting down communication channels, and insisting on Russia’s defeat—has led to a situation where major powers are once again deciding Europe’s future over its head.
Then came the Munich Security Conference, which further complicated matters. With Europe’s geopolitical prospects already looking bleak, US Vice President JD Vance delivered one of the most striking speeches in the conference’s history, blasting the EU for having become too ‘woke’ in recent years—curtailing free speech, marginalizing right-wing forces, failing to combat migration, and abandoning its ‘fundamental shared values’ with the United States. Further diminishing what little remained of the EU’s international standing, US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, when asked whether Europeans would be included in the talks, bluntly stated: ‘I’m from a school of realism. I think that’s not gonna happen.’
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to ease European concerns, clarifying that the current discussions were merely an initial effort to explore the possibility of real negotiations. If substantive talks do emerge, he assured, both Ukraine and the EU would be involved. Trump’s team—comprising Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff—was scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.
Kyiv’s participation in the Saudi talks remains uncertain. While President Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will not attend the first meeting, Washington insists that a Ukrainian delegation will, in fact, be present. Zelenskyy’s adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, has downplayed the significance of the talks, claiming that no substantive discussions can take place as Russia is not yet ready for negotiations. Notably, whether by coincidence or not, Zelenskyy landed in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday—a key mediator between Ukraine and Russia—and later announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Speaking to NBC News after bilateral talks with Vice President Vance in Munich, Zelenskyy reiterated his well-known vision for achieving peace in Ukraine: no territorial concessions, increased Western support, security guarantees from the US, and an offer of Ukraine’s vast rare earth metal reserves to Washington in exchange for further protection. The latter could prove to be the ‘key’ to Trump’s heart, as the president has previously expressed strong interest in securing American control over the extraction of these strategically critical resources.
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