Ukraine to decide who represents Europe in Russia talks, Zelensky says

KYIV - Ukraine will decide who represents Europe in any negotiations with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media published late on June 21.

Ukraine has been trying to reinvigorate the diplomatic push to end Russia’s more than four-year-old war by including Europeans, as US-backed negotiations stalled amid the Iran war and Ukraine refused Russian demands to cede its territory.

Zelensky said that Ukraine was discussed “at greater length than ever before” at a European Council meeting last week.

“We discussed Europe’s role in the dialogue with the Russians and what that role should be,” he said, relaying his comments to the Ukrainian media on social media platform X.

“Europe will consider the format and propose several options, but Ukraine will decide who represents Europe in the negotiations. That is fair.”

European leaders have recently begun discussing the possibility of direct talks with Moscow, but they are divided over how to handle relations with Russia.

Zelensky had urged allies to increase pressure on Russia to end the war at the Group of Seven summit in the French resort of Evian-les-Bains, where he met with US President Donald Trump.

Zelensky repeated his request for the US leader to approve licences for Ukraine to manufacture US-designed Patriot interceptor missile systems locally.

The war in Iran exposed a global shortage of such weapons at a time when Russia is increasing its ballistic missile production.

“This time, it became quite public that the US team had responded positively to the issue of licences for the first time,” Zelensky said.

The US interceptors are the only effective weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal for downing Russian ballistic missiles.

The Ukrainian leader said that Trump planned to ask US defence companies to establish licensed production of air defence missiles in Europe and Ukraine.

Reuters could not immediately reach the White House or Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, which manufacture the Patriot missile interceptor systems, for comment.

Fabian Hoffmann, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Defence University College, said approval would mark a significant shift in policy as the US has so far not granted Rheinmetall permission for a licensed facility to produce the latest generation PAC-3 interceptors in Germany.

But Hoffmann noted that the main bottleneck in production was not final assembly of the systems but the production of certain components, such as the radar homing device onboard the missile, which is made by Boeing. REUTERS