Aysu Bicer
16 December 2025•Update: 16 December 2025
LONDON
European leaders welcomed what they described as “significant progress” in efforts led by US President Donald Trump to secure “a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” according to a joint statement released Monday in Berlin.
The statement, signed by leaders including Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said there had been “close work between Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s and President Trump’s teams as well as European teams over the recent days and weeks.”
The leaders said they had agreed to work together with Trump and Zelenskyy “to get to a lasting peace which preserves Ukrainian sovereignty and European security,” noting “strong convergence between the United States, Ukraine and Europe.”
They underlined that “ensuring the security, sovereignty, and prosperity of Ukraine was integral for wider Euro-Atlantic security” and said Ukraine deserved “a prosperous, independent, and sovereign future, free from fear of future Russian aggression.”
As part of a potential agreement to end the war, the statement outlined commitments by the US and Europe to provide “robust security guarantees and economic recovery support measures.”
These include sustained support to build Ukraine’s armed forces, which “should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000,” and the creation of a “European-led ‘multinational force Ukraine’” operating within the framework of the Coalition of the Willing and supported by the US.
The plan would also involve a US-led “ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism with international participation” and a legally binding commitment to respond to any future armed attack, potentially including “armed force, intelligence and logistical assistance.”
The leaders said they would invest in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction and noted that “Russian sovereign assets in the European Union have been immobilized.”
They also said they “strongly support Ukraine’s accession to the EU.”
The statement reaffirmed that “international borders must not be changed by force” and that “decisions on territory are for the people of Ukraine,” once security guarantees are in place.
It added that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” and said it was now “incumbent upon Russia” to show willingness to work towards peace by agreeing to President Trump’s peace plan and a ceasefire.
Talks involving representatives of the US, Ukraine, and various European nations kicked off in Berlin Sunday as consultations on a possible end to the war continued at the highest level later in the day.
On Thursday, the EU will hold a summit to decide whether to use frozen Russian state assets to aid Ukraine.
