Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. Mortimer reporting there. Let's bring in Sven Biskopf, director of the Europe in the World
00:05program. Hello to you, Sven. Vladimir Putin, not the only absence there. It also seems like
00:15Europe left on the sidelines. Well, Trump has said from the beginning that he does not want to
00:21involve the European Union or European states in the talks. So anyway, it's not a surprise.
00:28But actually, in fact, we have an impact on those negotiations or seeming negotiations,
00:35because we have also taken a firm position through the EU, through the Coalition of the Willing.
00:40We have said we will continue the accession process of Ukraine to join the EU. We will
00:45maintain our sanctions against Russia. We will continue to arm Ukraine even after a potential
00:50agreement. So there will be no demilitarization. And if there is a ceasefire, we will deploy
00:55European troops to Ukraine for facts that Trump does not control, cannot negotiate a way in
01:01favor of Putin. And so we do have an impact. And what if Washington is at odds with these
01:09European positions? And Zelensky ends up perhaps making some of the concessions that would be
01:15against European interests. We, of course, consult closely with Ukraine. That's precisely the
01:23strength also of the European position. And that is, I think, what enables Zelensky some marches de
01:29manoeuvre to act, knowing that he is still backed, at least by his European allies.
01:34Well, we've seen these meetings, the Coalition of the Willing taking place in several European
01:39cities. Might they need to move somewhere else, perhaps cross the Atlantic and try to get the
01:46Trump administration to listen to what they're saying?
01:51This is what, for example, President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer have done. The point is,
01:57the Americans themselves have asked for European troops to be deployed, but then they refuse to
02:02guarantee their security if that would lead to a war with Russia. Of course, imagine that this
02:08scenario happens. There's a ceasefire. European troops, all from NATO countries, are shot at by
02:13Russia, and the United States stays out of it. That day, the U.S. de facto leaves NATO. So whether
02:19the Americans want it or not, NATO is involved. But it would be much better for the strength of the
02:25coalition, the credibility of the security guarantee that they want to offer to Ukraine,
02:28if Trump would say it very explicitly.
02:32Yeah. And what do you make of these talks in Istanbul? Vladimir Putin chooses the place. He
02:37chooses the date. There's anticipation, the first talks in three years between Ukraine and Russia. But
02:45then he doesn't show up. It feels anticlimactic. And it feels like either, in the best case scenario,
02:50he's buying time. In the worst case scenario, he's manipulating negotiators.
02:54Indeed. I mean, I think Zelensky played it well by going so he can clearly demonstrate that he's not
03:02a fault if this doesn't result in anything. And I guess we can only conclude that indeed, Putin is not
03:10yet ready to negotiate because, as your correspondent said, militarily, he thinks he is winning at a
03:17tremendous cost. So I don't exclude that at some point, Russia might still seek at least a temporary
03:23agreement, depending on what Trump is willing to offer to Putin. The risk is, of course, that Trump
03:30seems to want to end this war, not for the sake of Ukraine, but for the sake of his own relationship
03:35with Russia. And so Trump might be willing to offer concessions that would go against the Ukrainian and
03:41therefore against the European interests. Hence, it's so crucial that the Europeans stick to their guns,
03:48literally and figuratively, and continue their position in support of enclosed consultation with
03:53Ukraine.
03:54What would Vladimir Putin have to do or say to get a negotiations with Europe present, with
04:03Zelensky present, a face-to-face talk that brings the EU to the table? What would he have to do before
04:09Europe is ready to take that step?
04:13Well, I think if Putin wants to engage in sincere negotiations directly with Ukraine, I mean, if Ukraine
04:22agrees to go to the table, Europe will certainly support that. That's not the issue. The issue is that
04:29as long as the war continues, we must make clear that no matter how long it continues, we will never drop
04:35Ukraine. And I think that is what Putin also has to understand. He may think time is on his side,
04:40but we have now said that Ukraine will be a member of the European Union. Therefore, come what may,
04:46Europe will never drop Ukraine. So there will be no, there is no prospect of complete victory for Russia
04:52either. That is what our stance makes clear.
04:55Sven, thank you so much. Sven Biskap from the Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels.
05:00Yes.
05:02Cheers.