EU Leaders Hold Emergency Huddle Over Trump

French President Emmanuel Macron called leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom to his ornate Elysee Palace on Monday for an emergency meeting on how to deal with the US, a once rock-solid partner, the AP reports. The move follows a weeklong diplomatic blitz on Ukraine by the Trump administration that seemed to embrace the Kremlin while it cold-shouldered many of its age-old European allies. A flurry of speeches by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during their initial visits to Europe last week questioned both Europe's security commitments and its fundamental democratic principles. Macron said their stinging rebukes and threats of non-cooperation in the face of military danger felt like a shock to the system.

The tipping point came when Trump decided to upend years of US policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Then, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia on Saturday all but ruled out the inclusion of other Europeans in any Ukraine peace talks. On Monday, Macron will have afternoon talks with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the European Union on how to deal with Europe's security quandary. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend. French officials said no firm decisions are expected to emerge beyond a show of unity of European leaders. More developments:

• Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump said he believes Putin "wants to stop fighting," and he shot down the idea that Russia is looking to capture all of Ukraine, the Hill reports. Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC that while he thinks Trump "can push Putin to peace negotiations," the US president shouldn't automatically trust his Russian counterpart's words because he is "a liar."
• Zelensky also said he believes Russia will wage war against NATO. Asked about that Sunday, Trump said, "No, I don't agree. I don't agree. Not even a little bit."
• Zelensky said Saturday that he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on US interests, the AP reports. The proposal, which was a key part of Zelensky's talks with Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to sources.
• Trump is sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian counterparts, leading to European allies and Ukrainian officials becoming worried they are being largely sidelined in the negotiations, the AP reports. Sources tell the BBC neither Ukraine nor the EU has been invited to participate in the Saudi talks.
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday his country is "ready and willing" to send troops to enforce a peace deal in Ukraine, CNN reports.
• The Guardian takes a look at how European newspapers are playing the developments. Sample line: "The US administration is ready to hand Russia a win in its brutal war against Ukraine."

(More Russia stories.)