'End policy of appeasement' — European foreign affairs chairs rebuke Trump's Russia stance

Chairs of the foreign affairs committees of eight European parliaments on April 25 urged U.S. President Donald Trump to end "the policy of appeasement" towards Russia, and called for a "resolute stance" against Moscow, according to a document seen by the Kyiv Independent.

"We strongly warn against yielding to its blackmail and deception," the statement read.

The statement is signed by chairs of the foreign affairs committees of the U.K., France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a more critical stance toward Ukraine than his predecessor, while courting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Trump administration has temporarily paused military and intelligence support for Kyiv while taking no significant steps to pressure Russia into ending its war in Ukraine.

"We urge an end to the policy of appeasement and call instead for a united, resolute stance against Russia’s terrorist regime," the statement reads.

"Negotiating with the war criminal Putin is evidently futile; his main objective is to undermine and humiliate our ally, the United States. We call upon all states to ensure that Vladimir Putin and all those complicit in his crimes are brought to justice."

The officials also called upon the U.S. and other NATO members to admit Ukraine into NATO "without delay." as well as accelerate Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

"We must not repeat the mistakes of Munich in 1938," they said.

The chairs stressed that there can be "no compromise and no external pressure" on Ukraine regarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as U.S. is reportedly proposing its de jure recognition of Russian control over Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, as part of a potential peace deal.

They also urged Europe to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets and redirect them to support Ukraine.

Elsewhere, a copy of the peace proposal given to the U.S. by Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week show the diverging viewpoints of the U.S. on one side, and Ukraine and its European allies on the other as they seek to end Russia's full-scale invasion.