Trump praises JD Vance’s ‘good’ speech attacking allies as his envoy says Europe will NOT be a part of Ukraine peace talks – sparking emergency EU summit and Starmer sprint to DC

Donald Trump has praised his deputy JD Vance‘s ‘brilliant’ attack on Western allies as his envoy said European leaders would not be part of any Ukraine peace talks – sparking an emergency EU summit while Sir Keir Starmer prepares to rush to the US.

The US President and his team have ramped up pressure while it emerged panicked European chiefs were calling an emergency conference in Paris in response. 

US Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, 80, has encouraged Europe to join the conversation about the Ukraine-Russia conflict – yet made clear they would not have a final say in any resolution.

He has now told the Munich Security Conference: ‘That is not going to happen. And to my European friends, I would say – get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up [defence] spending.’

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot today told the France Inter radio station on Sunday that a meeting in Paris would now go ahead tomorrow, with five European diplomats saying it would include France, Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and Denmark – the latter representing Scandinavian nations.

The latest developments came after the US Vice-President caused a storm at the same summit with a blistering takedown of European nations, including the UK. 

Mr Vance used his appearance at the Munich Security Conference to chide Europeans over their immigration policy and for curbing free speech, saying they were facing a ‘crisis’ and it was ‘one of our own making’.

US administration colleagues have also been downplaying the prospect of Ukraine becoming a member of Nato – and Mr Trump responded to Mr Vance’s Munich speech by calling it ‘brilliant’.

The US president told reporters following an angry backlash from European leaders:  What did he say to ruffle them?

‘I heard his speech and he talked about freedom of speech. And I think it’s true in Europe, it’s losing, they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech.

‘I see it – I mean, I thought he made a very good speech actually, a very brilliant speech. I thought this speech was very well received actually.’

Sir Keir is now poised to join European leaders at an emergency summit on Monday, as they consider how to respond to Mr Trump’s push for an end to the Ukraine war.

The PM, set to visit Washington later in February, hopes to act as a bridge between Europe and the US after the transatlantic relationship was strained by Mr Trump’s decision to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin over a Ukraine deal.

France‘s President Emmanuel Macron is expected to gather European counterparts and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte for the crisis talks.

Mr Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine suggested on Saturday that European leaders would be sidelined from negotiations on a peace deal, heightening concerns on the continent about the possible appeasement of Mr Putin.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested a new European army might be needed in future if the US cannot be relied on to guarantee the security of the continent.

The diplomatic initiative by Mr Macron on Monday has yet to be formally confirmed but Sir Keir has said he would work to ‘keep the US and Europe together’.

The PM is expected to take the messages from the meeting to Washington the following week when he meets President Trump – after the pair spoke on the phone last Thursday evening and mooted a potential meeting in the coming weeks.

A further meeting of European leaders, including Mr Zelensky, is likely when Sir Keir returns from his US trip.

The Prime Minister said: ‘This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.

‘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.

‘The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.’

The prospect of Mr Macron convening a meeting of European leaders emerged during a dramatic day at the Munich Security Conference, where diplomats and politicians from around the world had gathered.

In his keynote speech, Mr Zelensky said: ‘We can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it.

‘A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at the table. That says a lot.

‘The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.’

He said the ‘time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created’.

Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine could be off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia as part of any deal to end the war.

US officials and Russian counterparts are expected to hold talks in Saudi Arabia ahead of an anticipated meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

Mr Zelensky said: ‘Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.’

Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has insisted European leaders would not have a place at the negotiating table in a discussion to end the Ukraine war.

That is despite the fact that European forces are likely to play a major role in securing any peace deal.

Retired general Mr Kellogg said the negotiations would be between Russia and Ukraine, with Mr Trump acting as mediator – but Europe would still be able to have an input.

He told the Munich conference: ‘To think that he’s going to do this alone is wrong, we never said that.’ 

Appearing alongside Mr Kellogg at a townhall event in Munich, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that Mr Putin’s KGB history meant he could not be trusted in a negotiation.

Mr Lammy said: ‘There is a Tsarist tradition that he’s leaning into – Peter the Great, Nicholas I – the worst of that period, imperial in its ambitions.

‘And there is a Soviet tradition. Let’s remember, he’s a KGB agent. He’s a man of deception, and in negotiating with him, we have to understand that and relate to that.’

A joint declaration by the G7 – the US, UK, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy, along with the European Union – said Russia would face further financial penalties if if did not ‘negotiate in good faith’, through caps on oil and gas prices and tougher sanctions.

The G7 members ‘underscored their commitment to work together to help to achieve a durable peace and a strong and prosperous Ukraine and reaffirmed the need to develop robust security guarantees to ensure the war will not begin again’.

Mr Lammy had earlier used the summit to urge European nations to do more to support Ukraine, saying the financial cost of failure would be ‘considerably more’ than extra spending to support Kyiv.

And Mr Rutte said European nations ‘have to spend more’ on their own defence.

Mr Vance had used his speech on Friday to accuse European politicians of forcing people to shut down social media accounts and urged leaders to do more to stem illegal immigration. 

He told delegates: ‘Europe faces many challenges, but the crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together, is one of our own making.

‘If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you, nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump.’

He accused European Union officials of ‘cancelling elections and asked whether ‘we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately higher standard’.

‘There is a new sheriff in town,’ he said, referring to Mr Trump US election triumph last November – adding: ‘We may disagree with your views but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square.’

He cited the example of a British man, Adam Smith-Connor, who was arrested after he refused to leave a safe zone around an abortion clinic designed to protect vulnerable women.

Vance claimed it was an attack on the ‘basic liberties of religious Britons’ that ‘criminalises prayer’, adding: ‘British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for.

‘Adam replied simply, it was on behalf of the unborn son that his former girlfriend had aborted years before.’

He accused European leaders of echoing communist language by acting against ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation.’

And he repeated Mr Trump’s longstanding demand that European nations spend more on their own defence.

Mr Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Mr Putin on Wednesday last week, kickstarting talks between Moscow and Washington.

And his defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine would not be able to keep its pre-2014 borders and would not be admitted to Nato.

Mr Trump told reporters last Thursday: ‘The Ukraine war has to end. Young people are being killed at levels that nobody’s seen since World War II – and it’s a ridiculous war.’