Speaking in Helsinki on Tuesday, where he was attending an Eastern Flank Summit, Tusk referred to Monday’s meeting in Berlin involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, among others.
The talks, which Tusk also attended, focused on conditions for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine and followed two days of negotiations in the German capital between Ukrainian and US delegations, including President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In a joint statement, European leaders said they "appreciated the strong convergence between the United States, Ukraine and Europe."
They added that the United States and Europe had committed to working "together to provide robust security guarantees and economic recovery support measures for Ukraine."
Tusk said Russia's reaction tempered the optimism he had expressed after the Berlin meeting.
"As I said yesterday after the meeting, I was cautiously optimistic. I can say the same today, but I am more cautious than optimistic when it comes to the Russian reaction," he said.
The question of possible territorial concessions remains the most critical and painful issue, not only for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole, Tusk said, adding that reaching an agreement would be "extremely difficult."
He said the main achievement of the Berlin talks was that "the Americans, Ukrainians and Europeans were finally sitting together on the same side," a stance that could increase pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and, ultimately, end the war.
According to reports, a key point of disagreement between Ukrainian and American negotiators remains the Donbas region, with the US delegation pressing Kyiv to agree to a full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the area.
Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out territorial concessions, insisting that any peace deal must respect Ukraine's sovereignty and internationally recognised borders.
The Ukrainian leader said the next stage of the peace process would involve consultations between US negotiators and Russian officials once documents prepared during the Berlin talks are finalised in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow would under no circumstances agree to the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory, according to Russian news agencies cited by Reuters.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters