Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, will host President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several other European leaders at his residence in Brussels on Wednesday evening to discuss the deteriorating situation in the war with Russia and how Europe can offer more support to Kyiv.
The dinner in Brussels comes at an uncertain moment for Ukraine as it considers President-elect Donald J. Trump’s push for an accelerated timetable for peace negotiations with Moscow. Mr. Zelensky is scheduled to address European Union leaders during a full summit meeting to be held on Thursday.
Mr. Rutte has argued that any serious negotiations on a cease-fire or settlement would require convincing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that he has little further to gain in Ukraine. And that, Mr. Rutte has noted, requires stepped-up Western support for Kyiv.
The dinner is expected to be attended by President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and President Andrzej Duda of Poland, as well as by David Lammy, the British foreign minister. The European Council president, António Costa, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are also expected to be there.
Given the uncertainty about U.S. policy next year under Mr. Trump’s leadership, Mr. Rutte will most likely use the dinner to coordinate the response of European members of NATO. The Europeans want to convince Mr. Trump that Ukraine should enter any negotiations from a position of strength and that a bad deal for Kyiv would make the American president look weak to China. They also want to show Mr. Trump that Europe is stepping up its support for Ukraine and will continue to do so.
There is also likely to be a discussion of what Europe might do to support Ukraine after any cease-fire, such as setting up a peacekeeping force to prevent another Russian attack in the future.
The European Union’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Monday that it was too early for discussions on providing peacekeeping troops or monitors. The first priority was to stop the Russians from gaining further ground in Ukraine.
“First, there has to be peace in order to send peacekeepers,” Ms. Kallas told reporters. “And Russia does not want peace.”
The discussions about Ukraine’s future will probably serve as a basis for a wider discussion at the summit with all E.U. leaders the following day.
According to a draft of the summit’s conclusions seen by The New York Times, leaders are likely to call for the urgent stepping up of delivery of air defense systems, ammunition and missiles, as well as training and equipment for Ukrainian forces. The leaders are also likely to call for “intensifying work to further support and develop Ukraine’s defense industry and to deepen its cooperation with the E.U. defense industry.”
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