Von der Leyen comments on her role in Ukraine peace talks

When asked if she would be at the negotiating table, von der Leyen replied: “Absolutely.”

"Because Ukraine needs lasting and just peace. If we want to achieve this goal, it's very important that we have true peace. This will be only possible with the European Union standing by Ukraine because one of the components is security guarantees, another component is the accession process of Ukraine to the EU, preconditions to have a just and lasting peace," the President of the European Commission emphasized.

Before that, in her opening speech before the Munich Security Conference, she said that the EU would intensify efforts to get Ukraine to join the bloc.

Von der Leyen emphasized that while significant progress had already been made, it was now time to intensify these efforts. She stated that the European Union's new goals should include exemptions for national budgets, a joint approach to investments, and accelerating Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump had earlier announced a meeting between representatives of Ukraine, the US, and Russia in Saudi Arabia.

However, a representative from the presidential team clarified in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that Ukraine had no plans to hold talks in Saudi Arabia next week.

Also yesterday, Trump announced a meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

However, the Ukrainian Presidential Office denied the possibility of such negotiations and emphasized that Ukraine would first engage in talks with the US and Europe.

Furthermore, Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, stated that Russian representatives would not attend the conference, as they had not been accredited.