Former Canadian Ambassador to Russia Jeremy Kinsman weighs in on U.S.-Russia meet, as European leaders rally behind Ukraine in new joint statement.
Following a joint statement calling for security for Ukraine from European leaders ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, one expert says he’s wary of what might result from Trump’s approach in the meeting.
“When you do these kinds of negotiations, you really have to start with looking at what are they very basic primary interest of the two parties concerned,” Jeremy Kinsman, former Canadian Ambassador to Russia told CTV News Channel on Sunday. “I’m not sure what Russia’s are.”
He cautioned that Trump may once again be vulnerable to manipulation by the Russian leader.
“I fear that Putin is playing Trump again, just looking like he’s talking to avoid further sanctions. (…) It only works if Trump is tough on Russia.”
In a joint statement from the Italian, French, German, Polish, British and Finnish leaders and the president of the European Commission, they call on Trump to “end the Russian Federation’s war of aggression” on Ukraine ahead of his meeting with Putin, scheduled to take place in Alaska, U.S., on August 15.
The statement, which Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that he “values and fully supports” on Sunday, further demands that Trump guarantees Ukraine’s ability to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations.
Ukraine values and fully supports the statement by President…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 10, 2025
According to Kinsman, this statement stresses the unified consensus to ensure Trump opposes Putin and supports Ukraine’s security.
“(European leaders) are saying what Canada, and those countries, and until recently, the U.S., had been saying as being the fundamental positions of the developed free world vis-a-vis Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
“It’s nothing new, but what they are doing is reinforcing the fact that they are not going to be very happy if Trump tries to step away from that.”
However, Kinsman says the fact that they’re meeting privately is worrisome and raises concerns about the implications of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which began more than three years ago.
“(Trump) is inviting the leader of Russia, who is under indictment from the International Criminal Court, (to the U.S.), and all NATO countries have said they would not have him in their country,” Kinsman said. “So, Trump is giving something to Putin that he clearly wants. Putin is seeking a form of impunity for the invasion of Ukraine.”
Similarly to the joint statement, he stressed that any discussion about ending the war cannot happen without Ukraine at the table.
“There should be no discussion of Ukraine without Ukraine,” Kinsman said. “Ukraine has a constitutional prohibition on ceding territory (…) I think the basic point of Zelenskyy is that there can’t be any talks unless Russia actually agrees to a ceasefire.”