The Munich Security Conference that opens February 14 could be a pivotal moment in the ongoing efforts to resolve the all-out war on Ukraine that Russia launched three years ago this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a planned meeting in Munich between high-ranking officials from Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington scheduled to take place on the first day of the three-day conference.
“Tomorrow is the meeting in Munich. Russia is going to be there with our representatives. Ukraine is also invited,” Trump told reporters at the White House on the eve of the event.
He did not say who would represent each country in the talks but said it would be “high-ranking people from Russia, from Ukraine, and from the United States.”
SEE ALSO: Analysis: Why U.S.-Russia Talks On Ukraine War Are A Concern For KyivU.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, are expected to attend the Munich conference, as is Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian media, however, quoted a spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as denying that a meeting with a Russian representative was planned.
"Talks with the Russians in Munich are not expected," the media reports quoted Dmytro Lytvyn as saying.
High Stakes
The uncertainty about the meeting reflects the intense high-stakes diplomacy that has been under way ahead of the annual conference that draws political leaders, senior military officials, and diplomats to the German city.
Trump announced on February 12 that he spoke by telephone for more than an hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said they agreed to begin peace talks to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
That development elicited mixed reactions from Kyiv and its European allies. Zelenskyy has made it clear that Ukraine will not accept any agreements that do not directly involve it. “We simply cannot accept any agreements without us as an independent nation,” he said.
SEE ALSO: High Stakes For Ukraine As World Leaders To Meet For Munich Security ConferenceKyiv fears it may be excluded from efforts to end the conflict on its own soil and pushed into a cease-fire or peace agreement that benefits Moscow and exposes Ukraine to more Russian aggression.
Spokesman Lytvyn emphasized that the Ukrainian position remains unchanged: Ukraine should first talk to the United States, while Europe should be a participant in "any serious conversation for the sake of real and lasting peace."
European leaders have also voiced concerns about the U.S. strategy, in particular that Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity may be jeopardized if the United States makes concessions to Russia.
"Any quick fix is a dirty deal," said Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, warning against any agreements that could be seen as appeasement.
Reassurances
Partly in response to those concerns, Vance and Rubio had been scheduled to meet with President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the conference, although it's not clear if that meeting is still taking place.
The U.S. defense secretary, Hegseth, said at a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels that Trump's plan to negotiate with Russia was "certainly not a betrayal" of Kyiv.
Trump also called Zelenskyy and said on February 13 that he assured the Ukrainian president that he would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia.
Squeezing Ukraine out of the peace talks would be seen as a win in Moscow. Putin has said on numerous occasions that Russia and the United States should be the primary mediators on the issue and has attempted to discredit Zelenskyy by falsely claiming he is illegitimate.
Under discussion in any talks, in whatever formats, will be whether Ukraine should cede territory currently occupied by Russia; the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO; the potential deployment of international peacekeeping forces; and the lifting of Western sanctions against Russia.