Skeptical Løkke: Problem if Putin and Trump make a deal about Ukraine

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) hopes that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and the USA’s president, Donald Trump, do not make an agreement about the war in Ukraine without the EU and Ukraine being involved.

Løkke said this to TV 2 ahead of an emergency meeting for the foreign ministers of EU countries.

– It would be very sad if an agreement lands over the heads of Europe. It is clearly a problem if you have a Putin and a Trump dividing land. We need a ceasefire now, Løkke told TV 2.

Over the weekend, Trump announced that he will meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska.

The two leaders will discuss at the meeting how the war in Ukraine, which was initiated by the Russians three and a half years ago, can be concluded. This is the first physical meeting between the two leaders since 2019.

It is the EU’s foreign chief, Kaja Kallas, who has called the foreign ministers of EU countries to the emergency meeting, which will take place on Monday and will be held virtually.

She stated over the weekend that any agreement between the USA and Russia regarding an end to the war in Ukraine must involve both Ukraine and the EU.

– The USA has the power to force Russia into serious negotiations. Any agreement between the USA and Russia must involve Ukraine and the EU, as it is a matter of Ukraine’s and all of Europe’s security, she told Reuters.

Trump has said that an agreement could include Russia and Ukraine exchanging territories. But Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has rejected any cession of Ukrainian territory.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Denmark, along with the Nordic and Baltic countries, affirmed that the countries stand firm in their “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were the senders behind the message.