European powers including Germany, France and the UK have said they must be part of any negotiations on the fate of Ukraine.
It follows US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s agreed with Russia’s President Putin to begin talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Seven European nations and the European Commission issued a statement saying their shared objective “should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength” and provided with security guarantees to create “a just and lasting peace”. They said Europe and Ukraine must be involved in any negotiations.
President Trump’s announcement raised concerns in Europe and Ukraine that he would agree to Russian annexation of large parts of Ukraine’s territory now occupied by Russian forces. The administration has said it does not believe a return to the pre-war borders is realistic.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky said that no agreement could be reached without his country’s participation in negotiations.
Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Jeremy Bowen.
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