Von der Leyen defends the return of deported children

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Washington on Monday that "all Ukrainian children must be returned," referring to minors deported and separated from their families in Moscow-occupied Ukraine.

Von der Leyen noted that this “must be one of the main priorities” of the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia , during a meeting at the White House hosted by the US President with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, several key European leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Ukraine is demanding the return of around 20,000 minors forcibly removed from their lands by Russia , a sensitive issue for Kyiv that led the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants in March 2023 against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.

According to the president of the EU's executive branch, European leaders visited the White House as "friends and allies" following the NATO summit held in June in The Hague and the signing of the "largest trade agreement" ever reached with Washington.

Von der Leyen also highlighted the need for a "just and lasting" peace in Ukraine, which would stop the killings in the country invaded by Russia since February 2022 , and the importance of the United States' commitment to offering security guarantees, which Kyiv considers essential as part of a solution to prevent new Russian aggression.

Ahead of the extended meeting with Zelensky and European leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted on the need for a ceasefire as a precondition for the next stages of peace negotiations , which French President Emmanuel Macron would like to see bring together European representatives with the US, Ukrainian and Russian presidents.

Also present in Washington, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, considered close to Trump although hostile towards the Russian invasion, declared his confidence that Ukraine, Europe and the United States will be able to find a solution to achieve peace , just as his country did during World War II, after being invaded by the Soviet Union.

"We found a solution in 1944, and I am confident that by 2025 we will also find a solution to end Russia's war of aggression and achieve a lasting and just peace," Stubb said at the start of the White House meeting.

"I think in the last two weeks we've probably made more progress toward ending this war than in the last three and a half years , and I think the fact that we're sitting at the table today is very symbolic, in the sense that it's 'Team Europe' and 'Team America' that are helping Ukraine," he said.

According to Stubb, participants at the Washington meeting hope to reach agreements on security guarantees that Europe and the United States will offer Ukraine, as well as move forward with a process that will allow for a trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin.

“The situation is very difficult, but that’s why we’re here,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned that security guarantees are a "precondition for any kind of peace," referring to the possibility of applying to Ukraine the principle of Article 5 of the treaty governing NATO, which concerns the mutual protection of allies in the event of aggression against one of their member states.

On Sunday, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the Russian President had accepted security guarantees during his summit with Trump two days earlier in Alaska as part of a future peace agreement with Ukraine, as Putin had already indicated after meeting with his US counterpart.

This agreement, Witkoff noted, would offer Ukraine protection “with language similar” to NATO’s Article 5 against further Russian invasions, but would keep Kyiv outside the Atlantic Alliance.

In his remarks at the White House, Meloni also called for maintaining a united front between Washington and Europe as a way to achieve peace, commenting that the Alaska summit and Monday's meetings inaugurated a new era, after more than three years of war, without "any indication from Russia that there was a willingness to engage in dialogue."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had already described Monday's meeting as a "historic step" for the security of Ukraine and Europe and expressed great optimism that "real progress with a fair and lasting outcome" in the conflict could be achieved.

After this round of contacts, Trump indicated that he will speak with Putin again.