European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says that the decision on what exactly the European Union can provide in a future peace agreement for Ukraine will be found in close cooperation with the Ukrainian side.

She said this on Sunday in Brussels at a press conference, answering journalists' questions about whether Ukraine has an accurate idea of ​​what Europe can provide as part of any peace agreement ahead of the talks in Saudi Arabia, which will take place next week. As is known, one of the elements of US President Donald Trump's position on ensuring peace for Ukraine is that security guarantees should be provided by European countries.

Von der Leyen stated that relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team are very close, and based on trust that has grown over the last three years.

She explained the state of relations with Kyiv, saying that they had been through difficult and delicate situations, so they know they can rely on each other in crisis or emergency situations. She added that, in most cases, they are able to find solutions by working very, very closely together, although not always.

The President of the European Commission expressed hope that the negotiations between Kyiv and Washington will lead to a just and lasting peace.

Von der Leyen explained that, for example, negotiations on security guarantees are ongoing. She said that the strongest security guarantee would, of course, be NATO membership, but at the moment, this is not possible. She added that the second most important element is a well-equipped and operational Ukrainian army. She noted that after that, they could move on to the details. She mentioned that they had a lot of very fruitful discussions and it was a normal learning process, because, once again, these were uncharted waters, and they had to find the best solution together.

Commenting on the request of journalists on the proposal of French President Emmanuel Macron to extend a "nuclear umbrella" to interested EU countries, the President of the European Commission stated that this issue is a national competence of the countries.