EU agrees on five countries to represent Europe in Ukraine peace talks
European leaders have agreed to send a team of diplomats from the European Union and five countries to the next round of Ukraine peace talks, European Council President Antonio Costa said after a summit in Dublin, Ireland.
The five countries are the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. They will join officials from the 27-nation EU bloc as part of the “Coalition of the Willing” that backs Ukraine.
“Europe must speak with one clear voice and united voice in all discussions that shape the future of Ukraine and the security of our continent. And this is ultimately a team effort,” Costa told a news conference at the end of an EU leaders’ meeting in Dublin.
The decision follows concerns that Europe could be shut out of negotiations on ending the nearly five-year war. US and Russian diplomats have criticised Europe for not being united. US envoy Jared Kushner said after US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia in the United Arab Emirates that “if Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in the negotiation.”
European leaders had previously discussed whether Europe should be represented by one person or a team. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni argued that the absence of a united European voice has allowed individual countries or small groups to engage in freelance diplomacy, saying, “There are too many different groupings discussing the issue.”
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas laid claim to the envoy role, saying, “I’m the one who is representing Europe in the foreign and security policy.” She added, “I know that the Russians don’t want me, but, you know, do we have a say, ‘Who is representing Russia?’ We can’t send any person that has no institutional role like the Americans are sending.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pleaded earlier on Friday for US President Donald Trump to create no surprises during expected talks with Putin in China next week, saying, “I therefore want to state our message to the United States very clearly: please, no surprises. Continue to play as part of ‘Team Europe’ and ‘Team Ukraine’.”
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin on Thursday. After talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, US envoys said that Europe would join future negotiations, but the Kremlin said no decision had been made.
Moscow does not want European countries involved in direct negotiations, arguing they are financing and supplying Ukraine’s military effort. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has compared European leaders to “spiders in a jar.”
