MK sport Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 17, 2025. Photo: AFP" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-17/75fc6d18-3ea8-488c-a7f4-8fb08480fe1a.png" />

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 17, 2025. Photo: AFP

European leaders are gathering on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss the Ukraine crisis, amid a deepening breach with Washington and growing concerns that the Trump administration could leave Brussels out of any talks on ending Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The US' possible sidelining of Europe highlights a major divergence in their security interests, Chinese experts said. 

The Russia-Ukraine conflict will become more complex, they predicted. While fighting continues on the frontline, the conflict will become a diplomatic maneuver among not only the two parties that are directly involved, but also the US and Europe, they said.

On Sunday, French presidency said French President Emmanuel Macron called for the "consultation talks" and that they would address the tumultuous change in the US approach to Ukraine and the attendant risks to the security of the European continent, Reuters reported.

The meeting will involve the heads of government of Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary General of NATO, according to CNN.

The emergency summit comes after US President Donald Trump stunned European allies in NATO and Ukraine last week when he announced he had held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting with them and would start a peace process.

US Vice President JD Vance sent another round of shockwaves around the continent during his speech at Munich Security Conference on Friday, where he reprimanded European leaders, telling them that the biggest threat to their security was "from within," pointing to what he claimed was their suppression of free speech and refusal to work with hard-right parties in government, CNN reported.

Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg jolted Europe further on Saturday when he said the European governments' positions would be taken into consideration, but won't be participants, in the peace talks, according to CNN.

"Europe has been so busy recently dealing with these multiple blows that the US dealt to them, and this summit will try to digest these disturbing developments. The immediate priority for Europe is to secure a seat at the negotiating table for the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Cui Hongjian, professor of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday.

 "Although the drawing of the European geo-security borders is particularly important to Europe, the US wouldn't want the Europeans there to affect the interests of the US," Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told Global Times.

However, it became evident over the weekend that there were also contrasting approaches within the Trump administration. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Sunday that Ukraine and Europe "would have to be involved" in any meaningful talks over Ukraine, reported the Guardian.

Cui said the mixed signals from Washington could be part of a broader strategy: by releasing seemingly chaotic information, the White House may be testing the reactions of various parties, with the ultimate goal of identifying a solution that it deems most suited to its interests. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the summit a "once-in-a-generation moment" for national security, and the UK would "work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together", adding the two could not "allow any divisions in the alliance to distract" from "external enemies," BBC reported on Saturday.

On Sunday night, Starmer told the Telegraph he was prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to safeguard peace. Sweden would also consider contributing to post-war peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday, per Reuters.

Yang believes that the US' potentially shutting out Europe in handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict suggests the emergence of a major divergence between the US and Europe on European security interests, which will bring about a drastic change in the structure of the transatlantic alliance.
"This is a major step in the practice of 'American First' in Trump's foreign policy and will set a precedent of the US possibly abandoning Europe when their interests collide. Europe will now have to think seriously about its strategic autonomy," Yang told the Global Times.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told his aides to reject the Trump administration's proposal that would grant the US 50 percent of Ukraine's rare earth minerals, NBC News reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian official close to matter.

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes called the Ukrainian President's refusal "short-sighted," AP reported. He added that the White House believes that "binding economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future aggression and an integral part of lasting peace".

Cui said there is a clear disagreement between parties on what peace stands for and what the costs are. What's more, the battle will continue as both sides accumulate bargaining chips for the negotiations.

"The situation ahead could become even more complex: with fighting continuing at the front, there will be a diplomatic maneuver involving four parties - the US, Russia, Europe, and Ukraine - playing out behind the scenes," Cui said.

China supports all efforts dedicated to peace and expects a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement accepted by all parties concerned, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday while meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha at the latter's request on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. 

China supports all endeavors conducive to peace and backs Europe in playing a significant role in the peace negotiation process, Wang told Kaja Kallas, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy of the European Commission.

Responding to media inquiry on what drives China's desire to now align more closely with the European Union and how does new uncertainty in transatlantic relations between the EU and the US affect China, Guo Jiakun, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a regular press conference on Monday that "as we speak, unilateralism and protectionism are rising, and uncertainties and destabilizing factors are intertwining with each other. The international community aspires for peace and stability, wants a sound and steady China-EU relationship, and expects China and the EU to play a constructive role in this changing world more than ever."