European leaders convened an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday (17 February), grappling with a diplomatic shift that has cast doubt on their alliance with Washington.
The crisis talks, called by France, followed a flurry of US engagements with Russia over Ukraine, raising concerns that Washington and Moscow may broker a deal unfavourable to Kyiv and its European partners, reports CBC.
As the diplomatic landscape shifted, senior officials from the US and Russia prepared to meet in Riyadh on Tuesday in what would be the most consequential dialogue between the two nations since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
The talks mark a significant departure from previous US policy, signalling a move by the Trump administration to reverse Washington’s longstanding stance on isolating Russia.
Amid fears of being sidelined, French President Emmanuel Macron convened leaders from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the European Union at the Élysée Palace.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was also present.
Prior to the meeting, Macron held a private call with US President Donald Trump, though the Élysée declined to disclose details of the conversation.
Washington dismisses European role in talks
The diplomatic shift has rattled European leaders, particularly after Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Gen. Keith Kellogg, stated on Monday that Europe had "no place at the negotiating table."
Speaking in Brussels, Kellogg assured European allies that their concerns would be "known and addressed," but insisted that direct US-Russia talks were the most "reasonable and feasible" path forward.
"We know how these things can turn out when too many voices are at the table. Our approach is to keep it clean and fast," he said.
His remarks came amid a series of statements from senior US officials—including Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth—that questioned Europe’s security commitments and even its democratic institutions.
Macron, a long-time proponent of European strategic autonomy, described Washington’s rhetoric as "a shock to the system."
High-stakes diplomacy in Riyadh
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Riyadh on Monday, where they will meet Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Ukraine has been excluded from the discussions.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the talks will focus on "restoring the entire range of US-Russian relations" and laying the groundwork for a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The White House has described the talks as an opportunity to assess Moscow’s sincerity in pursuing peace.
"The goal is to determine whether Russia is serious about negotiations and whether a broader dialogue can begin," said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
While Bruce insisted that formal peace talks would require Ukrainian participation, Washington’s move to engage directly with Moscow has raised alarms in Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials have warned that any deal brokered without their involvement would be unacceptable.
A diplomatic turning point
The talks in Riyadh come in the wake of a phone call between Trump and Putin, in which the US president declared that their teams would begin negotiations immediately.
This move has effectively ended Washington’s policy of isolating Moscow, upending nearly three years of diplomatic pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
With the US shifting course, European leaders now find themselves in an uncomfortable position—grappling with the reality of a transatlantic partnership in flux and a geopolitical landscape that increasingly leaves them on the sidelines.
