Germany assumes that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska to try to resolve the three-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine, despite pleas from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.
"We hope and assume that the government of Ukraine, that President Zelensky will be involved in this meeting," Mr Merz said in an interview with broadcaster ARD.
Mr Merz told ARD that Berlin was working closely with Washington to try to ensure Mr Zelensky's attendance at the talks.
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"We cannot accept in any case that territorial questions are discussed or even decided between Russia and America over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians," he said.
"I assume that the American government sees it the same way."
US Vice President JD Vance said a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to satisfy either side, and any peace deal will likely leave both Moscow and Kyiv "unhappy."
He said the US is aiming for a settlement both countries can accept.
"It's not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it," he said in a Fox News interview.
Mr Vance said the US was working to schedule talks between the Russian President and the Ukrainian President.
He said he did not think it would be productive for Mr Putin to sit down with Mr Zelensky before meeting with Mr Trump.
Mr Merz added that he hoped that the talks could make significant progress towards a peace settlement and even produce a "breakthrough".
"We hope that there will be a breakthrough on Friday," he said. "Above all (we hope) that there will finally be a ceasefire and that there can be peace negotiations in Ukraine."
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said that any deal between Washington and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine must include Ukraine and the EU, adding that she will convene a meeting of European foreign ministers tomorrow to discuss next steps.
"The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously," Ms Kallas said in emailed comments.
"Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe’s security."
Ms Kallas said that "as we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine".
"A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe," she added.
Ms Kallas also said that ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza.
European leaders seek more 'pressure' on Russia
European leaders have urged more "pressure" on Russia, after the announcement of a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin to end the war in Ukraine raised concern that an agreement would require Ukraine to cede swathes of territory.
Announcing the summit, Mr Trump said that "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" sides, without elaborating.
Mr Zelensky said Kyiv "values and fully supports" the joint statement by EU leaders on achieving peace in Ukraine while protecting Ukrainian and European interests.
"The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations," Mr Zelensky wrote on X.
"Ukraine values and fully supports the statement by President Macron, Prime Minister Meloni, Chancellor Merz, Prime Minister Tusk, Prime Minister Starmer, President Ursula von der Leyen, and President Stubb on peace for Ukraine."
European leaders issued a joint statement overnight saying that "only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed".
They welcomed Mr Trump's efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically - by maintaining support for Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia.
"The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations", said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details.
They also said a resolution "must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests", including "the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity".
"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," they said.
National security advisors from Ukraine's allies - including the United States, EU nations and the UK - gathered in Britain yesterday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.
A 'dignified peace'
Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.
Mr Putin has ruled out holding talks with Mr Zelensky at this stage.
Ukraine's leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Mr Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.
The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva in June 2021.
Nine months later, Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said of the location that it was "very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people".
