Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said EU officials lack a mandate for Monday’s Paris talks on Europe’s role in a Ukraine cease-fire, arguing the discussions are unrelated to the EU and their involvement undermines trust in the bloc.
He said in a statement issued by the government office that the issue of troops in Ukraine was only for the United Nations or through bilateral deals and "is a topic with which the EU has nothing to do and should not comment."
European leaders sought to form a united front Monday at emergency talks in Paris, called after a U.S. diplomatic blitz on Ukraine which has thrown a once-solid alliance into turmoil and left the Europeans questioning the reliability of their key transatlantic partner.
Shortly before the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, but Macron's office would not disclose details about the 20-minute discussion.
Leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European Union met at the Elysee Palace for talks on Europe's security quandary. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was also there.
Since last week, top U.S. officials from the Trump administration, on their first visit to Europe, left the impression that Washington was ready to embrace the Kremlin while it cold-shouldered many of its age-old European allies.
Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, underlined Monday that Europe has no place at the negotiating table.
"All their concerns will be known, and addressed as well," Kellogg told reporters in Brussels, where he briefed the 31 U.S. allies in NATO, along with European Union officials, before heading to Kyiv for talks on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I don't think it's reasonable and feasible to have everybody sitting at the table. We know how that can turn out and that has been our point, is keeping it clean and fast as we can," he said.
