EU leaders rush to secure Ukraine future as US and Russia plan talks

European leaders were scrambling to force their way to the table for any talks on the Ukraine war, as Washington announced a team of senior US officials was planning to meet in Saudi Arabia with counterparts from Moscow and Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump upended the status quo last week when he announced he was likely to soon meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start talks to end the conflict - going on three years - leaving US allies in Europe concerned their interests would be sidelined.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, US officials said Saturday, without giving details on when the meeting would happen.

In Munich, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Europe had to come up with "good proposals" for securing peace in Ukraine if it wanted to be involved in US-led talks.

"If Europeans want to have a say, make yourself relevant," Rutte said.

Rutte also said he would head to Paris today to take part in an expected meeting of European leaders convened by French President Emmanuel Macron.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that Europe "must take on a greater role in NATO" and work with the United States to "secure Ukraine's future."

As part of any eventual "security guarantees" for Ukraine, talks have begun in Europe over a potential deployment of peacekeepers.

But those discussions are at an embryonic stage - and others argue the focus needs to be on building up Ukraine's own forces.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of a European army, arguing the continent could no longer count on Washington.

"I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created," Zelensky said.

Agence France-Presse