US President Donald Trump’s “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has sparked fears in Europe of a “dirty deal” being struck to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow without Kyiv’s involvement.

European governments are reeling after the Trump administration signaled that it is planning face-to-face talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine.

The announcement of the Trump-Putin call made no mention of Europe or of much of a Ukrainian role, playing into fears that their interests will fall by the wayside.

"Any agreement without us will fail, because you need Europe and Ukraine to also implement the agreement," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "Any quick fix is a dirty deal." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: "Nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine or on Europe without Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with the Financial Times has described Donald Trump’s return to power as an “electroshock” for the EU and a moment “to accelerate and execute”, warning that otherwise the project is at risk of failure: “It has no choice.