NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will receive Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders at his residence in Brussels on the evening of December 1.8 to discuss how to support Ukraine before the return of Donald Trump at the White House.

The main topics likely to be discussed with the Ukrainian president are ways to strengthen the country’s air defense and accelerate the delivery of past arms commitments, which have not been fully realized, according to sources close to the case. Leaders could also be pushed to be willing to participate in a possible postwar peacekeeping force.

Trump has pledged to end the war quickly, but he has not provided specific details on how he plans to do so.

The president-elect and his national security nominees have suggested that Ukraine may have to leave swaths of its territory in limbo in exchange for security guarantees that are unlikely to match NATO membership. This would force Europe to bear much of the burden in the future.

As European capitals accept the possibility that negotiations will be handed over to Mr. Zelensky once Trump is in power, leaders are focused on ensuring that kyiv enters the negotiations from a position of strength and filling any gaps that could emerge if the United States was retreating. his support, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In addition to Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Rutte’s meeting will bring together the German Olaf Scholz, the Italian Giorgia Meloni and the Pole Andrzej Duda, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In December 18Dr von der Leyen said the European Union must maintain its political support for Ukraine, particularly regarding kyiv’s bid to join the bloc.

“They have made enormous progress towards joining our union,” she told the European Parliament. “And if they continue these efforts, we should be ready to open negotiations” on part of the process in early 2025.

The UK also appears to have changed its position in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitting for the first time that the conflict would likely end in a negotiated settlement. Foreign Minister David Lammy is expected to join the meeting in December 18 in his place.

Britain must help “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to negotiate” with Russia to end the conflict “so that they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms, which guarantees their security, their independence and their right to choose their own future,” Mr Starmer said. said earlier in December.

EU leaders plan to use joint conclusions from December leaders’ summit 19 to call for “the urgent intensification of efforts, in particular on the delivery of air defense systems, munitions and missiles, as well as on the provision of necessary training and equipment to Ukrainian brigades”, according to the last consulted draft by Bloomberg.

This is not an easy task. Russian forces continue to gradually advance on the battlefield and their missiles and drones continue to rain down on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and cities.

While Europe has provided the greatest financial support to kyiv, the United States has been its main military supporter. And Europe does not have the resources to offset any major reduction in support that might occur under Trump, especially in the short term.

Mr Rutte recently insisted that Europe was still not doing enough to strengthen its defences.

Another area that allies will focus on in the future will be the continued supply of artillery munitions. kyiv recently managed to reduce Russia’s advantage to around 1.5 shells for every Ukrainian shot in response, compared to several times earlier in the war. But those efforts will need to be sustained, the people said.

One challenge, some people say, is that Mr. Scholz will not be able to make many commitments beyond the German elections in February, while France’s Emmanuel Macron is weakened both politically and economically.

As leader of the EU’s third-largest economy, Meloni and her positions will receive a lot of attention at Rutte’s meeting, the sources said. The talks will be a prelude to a broader discussion that will take place between all EU member states at the December summit 19. BLOOMBERG

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