Politico said Europe is changing its approach to Ukraine because of Trump's stance

Washington's allies in Europe are changing their approach to supporting Kiev in line with the position of US President Donald Trump, who is expressing a willingness to negotiate with Moscow. This was reported by Politico newspaper on February 12, citing sources.

"The strategy toward Ukraine in Europe is gradually changing in line with the changing tone of the United States' statements - from promises of unwavering support to attempts to force Kiev to the negotiating table with a strong hand," the publication noted.

According to the publication, the new strategy will be most clearly demonstrated at the Munich Security Conference, which will be held from February 14 to 16. According to the newspaper's sources, Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (whose term of office expires in May 2024).

According to the newspaper's assessment, this time the event will be held differently than under the previous US leader Joe Biden. Back then, at the conference, the US and its allies expressed their readiness to support Kiev "as long as necessary."

In addition, as the newspaper's interlocutors noted, representatives of Ukraine and the US before the conference "discussed long-term security guarantees," which concerned weapons and intelligence assets such as satellites.

In business readiness: Putin assessed the prospects for talks with Trump

Will Russian and US leaders be able to agree on ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and other issues?

Earlier in the day, Hungarian Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Ukraine would benefit from lifting Zelensky's decree banning talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

On February 1, Zelensky said that he expected the start of negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with the participation of Moscow, Kiev, Washington and Brussels. In its turn, the Kremlin said that the Russian Federation viewed the Ukrainian leader's words as empty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded that the Russian Federation has never refused from peace talks, but they should be conducted on the basis of the provisions agreed in Istanbul and not on the basis of "ephemeral demands". Also on 28 January, the Russian president specified that "anyone" could negotiate with Russia from the Ukrainian side, but legitimate people should sign documents on the results of the decisions.

The last round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place on March 29, 2022 in Istanbul. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, the Ukrainian president put into effect the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Putin.