Washington [US], October 22: European leaders stressed on October 21 that the current front lines in Ukraine must be the starting point for any peace talks, as preparations for a US-Russia summit hit obstacles.
US President Donald Trump said last week he planned to meet his Russian counterpart Valdimir Putin in the Hungarian capital Budapest within two weeks with the aim of promoting efforts to end the war in Ukraine .
However, Ukraine's European allies are concerned that President Trump may enter the US-Russia talks without significant concessions from Moscow. President Putin rejected Trump's call for a ceasefire during their meeting in Alaska in August.
European concerns
In a statement on October 21, leaders of the European Union (EU) and European powers including Britain, France, and Germany unanimously affirmed strong support for President Trump's stance that the conflict in Ukraine should stop immediately, and the current battle lines should be seen as the beginning of a negotiation effort, Reuters reported.
Ukraine and its European allies have long insisted on an immediate ceasefire along the current front lines before peace talks can begin, a position Trump publicly endorsed on October 17 after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Meanwhile, Moscow wants Ukraine to make more territorial concessions as one of several conditions for a ceasefire.
No exact time for Trump-Putin meeting yet
However, preparations for the US-Russia summit appeared to have stalled after a preliminary meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov scheduled to take place in Budapest on October 23 was postponed.
Lavrov and Rubio spoke by phone on October 20. A day later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was too early to set a date for any face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump.
On October 21, the Kremlin confirmed that there is still no official timeframe for the US-Russia summit on Ukraine, according to AFP.
Putin needs to fly across the EU if he holds a summit with the US
The choice of Budapest as the venue for the US-Russia summit is also causing controversy within the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is one of the few leaders who have maintained warm relations with Russia since Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.
However, any flight to Budapest would require Putin's plane to pass through the airspace of other EU countries. Poland warned on October 21 that it could force Putin's plane to land and arrest the Russian leader on orders from the International Criminal Court.
For its part, Bulgaria said Mr Putin could use its airspace to reach the meeting point.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
