NATO’s secretary general welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of major European powers to Brussels today to discuss the war in Ukraine just weeks before Donald Trump takes office in Washington.

Mark Rutte, who took over as secretary general of the Atlantic alliance in early October, is seeking to gather the “most resolute” pro-Kiev European allies to discuss two issues: how to deal with the new Trump administration and what more can be done for Ukraine, summarizes a diplomat in Brussels.

Read about: Trump’s plan for Ukraine: Territorial concessions, but NATO out of the question

Who is participating?

The informal mini-summit, which will be held at the residence of Mark Rutte, will be the opportunity to discuss at the highest level the “next steps” after a thousand days of war in Ukraine, said yesterday prime minister of Italy Georgia Meloni.

In addition to the Italian prime minister, the president of France will be present Emmanuel Macronthe prime minister of Poland Donald Tusk and the chancellor of Germany Olaf Solz.

OR Britain will be represented by Foreign Minister David Lammy and the European Union by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council Antonio Costa.

Goal “to make Ukraine as powerful as possible in negotiations”

Europeans are worried about the possibility of an end to US military aid and Donald Trump’s promises to end the war “in 24 hours”.

In this context, Ukraine now invokes the case of peace negotiations, a possibility it has long rejected, on the condition of providing security guarantees.

Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday spoke of “sustainable peace” in Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not be able to break”. And the only way, according to the Ukrainian president, to have a security guarantee is for Ukraine to join NATO, which will guarantee its protection.

However, the prospect of Ukrainian integration is, according to NATO, “irreversible”, but not immediate, so the concept of offering security guarantees is imperative. France and Poland discussed last week in Warsaw the sending of military forces to Ukraine to oversee a possible ceasefire.

Talks are progressing but still difficult because of uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s future proposals, according to a European diplomat.

So the goal is “to make Ukraine as strong as possible before any negotiations,” according to a German government source.

The idea boils down to validating the “common line of action” among Europeans while maintaining “close coordination for the next stages,” Georgia Meloni explained.

And for the president of Ukraine, the supply of more weapons that will allow Kiev to turn the tables on the front is an urgent need.

Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev needs 12 to 15 additional air defense systems to protect itself from Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s cities and energy infrastructure.

“It is possible. The key factor is political will,” he said.