Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The war in Ukraine will be a key issue, along with European defense issues and the renewal of European sanctions against Moscow, on the agenda of today's meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. This comes hours after US President Donald Trump said he would speak directly with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday, "tomorrow." When asked about the concessions that might be discussed in the call, the US president said: "We'll talk about territory. We'll talk about power plants."
US President Donald Trump told reporters he intends to speak with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, seeking the Russian president's approval of a proposal to end Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"A lot of work was done over the weekend," Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening. "We want to see if we can end this war. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance."
His comments came after Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Moscow to negotiate directly with Putin last week. Ukraine had previously agreed to the Trump administration's plan for a 30-day ceasefire during talks in Saudi Arabia, provided Moscow also agreed. Putin claimed to support the ceasefire, but he set pending questions and onerous conditions.

The EU foreign ministers' meeting will also discuss EU High Representative Kaya Kallas's plan, which calls for countries to send up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year and was discussed by EU ambassadors on Friday. (This should not be confused with Ursula von der Leyen's "Remilitarizing Europe" plan, unveiled earlier this month.)

Kallas's plan, which envisions a "coalition of the willing" arrangement to circumvent the Hungarian or Slovak veto, is already facing headwinds, and diplomats do not expect a decision on its details today or at the EU summit later this week. However, the latest draft of the final statement that leaders will discuss on Thursday, seen by Playbook in Brussels, specifically refers to Kallas' initiative. The magazine added about the East-West divide: What is becoming clear as another crucial week for European defense begins is the emergence of a new East-West divide within Europe. Countries on the front lines of the war in Ukraine—the Baltic states, the Nordic countries, and Poland—are preparing to allocate defense funds, while countries further afield, such as Portugal, Spain, and Italy, are showing greater hesitation.
A matter of priorities: Some countries—including France—are facing the budgetary implications of increased defense spending. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez angered some by arguing in an interview with the Financial Times on Friday that cybersecurity and climate change efforts should be included in defense spending.
European arms procurement: Another diplomatic battle is raging over whether new rearmament initiatives should apply only to EU companies, rather than arms manufacturers from countries such as the United States, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
French President Emmanuel Macron used a series of interviews in French media on Saturday to argue that Europeans should stop buying American weapons. The French president said that "the new generation of Franco-Italian Patriot missile defense systems should be offered to those who buy them." He continued, saying that Europeans should buy French Rafale fighter jets instead of American F-35s.

Facing Sanctions: After a series of tense meetings last week, EU countries agreed to renew sanctions on Russia before the Saturday evening deadline—but only after Hungary's demands were met and four Russians were removed from the blacklist.

However, in a significant development, Vladislav Vlasyuk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's sanctions policy commissioner, stated in an interview with Playbook magazine that Kyiv is open to easing sanctions and European countries striking deals with Russia—provided that it is part of a lasting peace agreement.

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