Rheinmetall CEO says Europe is "at kids' table" in Ukraine talks

Armin Papperger, CEO of German defence concern Rheinmetall, has said that European countries have found themselves "at kid’s table" in negotiations on Ukraine's future due to decades of underinvestment in defence.

Papperger said in an interview with the Financial Times that Europe is to blame for being on the sidelines of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, which were initiated by the new US administration led by Donald Trump.

"If you don’t invest, if you are not strong, they handle you like kids," he said.

The consequence of insufficient defence spending, according to Papperger, is that Europeans are being seated at a separate table like children while the US and Russia are discussing Ukraine's future.

"If parents have dinner, the kids have to sit at another table. The US is negotiating with Russia and no European is at the table – it has become very clear that the Europeans are the kids," added the Rheinmetall CEO.

Papperger expressed doubt that Trump's peace talks would really lead to Russia stopping the shooting.

He said that his company would benefit even if there was a ceasefire, as Europe would continue to invest in armaments as it confronts the threat of Russian aggression.

Last week, the Donald Trump administration stepped up efforts to launch negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the full-scale war unleashed by Moscow.

Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, said that the United States does not see Europe at the negotiation table to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.

After that, an emergency summit of European leaders convened by French President Emmanuel Macron took place in Paris on the evening of 17 February.