European Leaders to Convene Emergency Summit Amid Ukraine Peace Negotiations

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European leaders are set to hold an emergency summit in Paris as tensions rise over U.S. efforts to negotiate peace in Ukraine without European involvement. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer emphasized the summit's importance, calling it a "once-in-a-generation moment for our national security" that highlights Europe's need for a more significant role within NATO. This comes after Donald Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, stated that European leaders would not participate in upcoming U.S.-Russian negotiations in Saudi Arabia, which aim to address the ongoing conflict.

Austria's President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concerns over the potential exclusion of Ukraine from critical peace discussions, asserting that his country will not accept "deals made behind our backs." Meanwhile, U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have engaged in preliminary discussions with Russian counterparts to facilitate a meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky, aimed at resolving the conflict. Starmer indicated that he plans to align European and U.S. positions during his upcoming White House visit, stressing the need for unity against external threats.

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