European leaders gathered on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine.

There are fears that they might be frozen out of the negotiations.

The goal is to agree on a common strategy for dealing with Mr Trump, including what offers can be made to him and what Europe’s red lines are when it comes to Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Leaders from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark were expected to attend the meeting in Paris alongside European Council President António Costa.

European Commission resident Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also participate in the summit, the Élysée Palace said.

French President Emmanuel Macron set up the meeting to initiate consultations on the situation in Ukraine and the challenges for security in Europe, the statement said.

It added that the process could continue in other formats.

The meeting was organised at short notice during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

Diplomats have said that the question of what Europe can contribute to a possible peace deal will also be discussed in Paris after the U.S. called on Europeans to contribute more.

EU countries and Ukraine were alarmed by the prospect of the U.S. and Russia seeking a peace settlement bilaterally, especially after Mr Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. This was to accelerate the negotiation process with Moscow.

The Trump administration has outlined a plan that would exclude Ukraine from NATO, grant Russia territorial concessions, and close the door on U.S. participation in future peacekeeping operations.

He did this to accelerate the negotiation process with Moscow; the terms are being viewed in Europe’s corridors of power as Washington turns its back on allies.

The turning of back on allies is in favour of making a deal with Mr Putin.

“I think he would like to stop fighting,’’ Mr Trump said of Mr Putin on Sunday.

Speaking to NBC News over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never; he went on to warn Trump don’t trust Putin.’’

Late Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine and Europe should be involved in negotiations with Moscow.

The Paris meeting came the same week that Mr Rubio was due to meet Russian representatives with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Saudi Arabia.

Neither Ukrainian nor European representatives would be at the table during the talks in Saudi Arabia.

(dpa/NAN)