Sanchez Heads To Paris For European Security Summit

February 17, 2025February 17, 2025 Madrid Metropolitan donald trump, Perdro Sánchez, spain news, ukraine

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is en-route to Paris this morning to attend the emergency summit of European leaders to discuss Ukraine and enhancing security for Europe.

Sanchez will be joined by the leaders of Germany, UK, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.

Last week Sanchez spoke to Ukrainian President, Volodimir Zelenski to express Spain´s ongoing support for the country.

The informal summit comes after a week that saw US President Donald Trump initiate peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin including an announcement of a face-to-face meeting proposed to take place in Saudi Arabia, without consulting either Ukraine or NATO allies.

Trump officials are heading to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start the talks. The EU hasn’t been invited to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials aren’t aware of any talks and no delegation is traveling to Saudi Arabia.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer who will be attending the emergency summit, said Europe is at a “once-in-a-generation moment for our national security.”

“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia,” Starmer said, according to media reports.

Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said: “We need to show our strength and unity.”

The key issue on the table is for a joint European response including increasing European defence spending and a seat at the table for any eventual peace deal to end the Ukrainian war.

Spain had earlier come under fire from the US President for its low defence spending which at less than 1.4% of GDP is the lowest in NATO, though the government has pledged to increase this to 2% by 2029.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that “we are in a decisive moment for Ukraine’s and Europe’s future”.

Kallas met Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, at last week´s Munich security conference.

When asked if Europe should be at the negotiating table with the US, Russia and Ukraine, Kellogg said earlier on Saturday that “in the school of realism, I think that’s not going to happen”. He added that he wanted to get a clear sense of Europe’s position so that it was well-stated in negotiations. “That may grate a little bit, but I’m telling you something that’s really quite honest,” he said.