US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Image: SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Thursday that President Donald Trump's efforts to seek an end to the Ukraine war with Russian leader Vladimir Putin were "certainly not a betrayal" of Kyiv.
European powers insisted that Kyiv and other countries on the continent must have a seat at the table of any future negotiations.
"There is no betrayal there. There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace," Hegseth said ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers.
"That will require both sides recognising things they don't want to."
Trump on Wednesday caught off guard Ukraine and Washington's European allies by agreeing to launch peace talks in his first publicly announced phone call with Putin since returning to power.
Hegseth has laid out a string of expectations from Washington to halt the conflict, saying it was not realistic for Ukraine to regain all its land or become a member of NATO.
He has also said that Europe must now start providing the "overwhelming share" of aid to Ukraine and that the US would not deploy troops as a security guarantee under any deal.
Germany's defence minister, Boris Pistorius, hit back that it was "regrettable" that Washington had made "concessions" to Russia before peace talks had even started.
"In my view it would have been better to speak about a possible NATO membership for Ukraine or possible losses of territory at the negotiating table," Pistorius said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of key European powers including Germany, France, Poland and Britain said, "Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations."
Throughout Russia's all-out war on Ukraine since 2022 it has been a mantra for Western powers that there should be no decisions taken on Ukraine's future without Kyiv.
NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday said that it was crucial Kyiv is "closely involved" in any talks about what is happening in Ukraine.
Britain's defence secretary, John Healey, echoed that message, warning "there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine, and Ukraine's voice must be at the heart of any talks."
Rutte insisted that any potential peace deal had to be "enduring", pointing to similar comments made earlier by Hegseth.
Kyiv's European backers are terrified that Trump could force Ukraine into a bad peace deal that will leave them facing an emboldened Putin.
"Europe has to be part of these negotiations. It's not a question at all," said Estonian defence minister Hanno Pevkur.
"Europe is investing in Ukrainian defence, and Europe is rebuilding Ukraine with European Union money, with our bilateral aid - so we have to be there."
AFP