Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof is among the European leaders meeting in Paris on Monday to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine, following the US decision to bypass the EU and start talks directly with Russia.

European leaders are also concerned that the US has said it will not take part in any peacekeeping effort in Ukraine, if a peace deal is brokered, and has said Ukraine cannot become a member of Nato.

Schoof said at the weekend the Netherlands is prepared to consider taking part in a peace-keeping mission, and British prime minister Keir Starmer has already said Britain will contribute. Sweden too followed suit on Monday.

Schoof told news agency ANP that Dutch involvement would hinge on two key conditions: a “completely clear” mission mandate and a guarantee that the US would provide support in an emergency. “If things get out of control, you need to be able to count on the Americans in the face of Russia,” he said.

European leaders have also repeatedly emphasised that Europe must play a role in any peace negotiations alongside Ukraine, the US and Russia.

Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans told television current affairs show Buitenhof on Sunday that the US decision to talk to Russia alone is the “tough reality”.

“The Americans in that sense are extremely business-like,” he said. “They say ‘if we don’t know what we are getting militarily from Europe, then you don’t get a place at the negotiating table.”

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio appeared to soften the US position slightly on Sunday, saying the talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia are only the beginning of the end of the war and there is still a long way to go.

Rubio also said on Sunday that Ukraine and Europe would be part of any “real negotiations” to end Moscow’s war.