Europe will send a team of diplomats from the European Union and five individual countries to the next round of Ukraine talks, a top EU official said after a summit focused on how to avoid being shut out of negotiations on ending the nearly five-year war.
European Council President Antonio Costa said on Friday that the continent will be represented by officials from the 27-nation EU bloc and five members of the “Coalition of the Willing” that backs Ukraine: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland.
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“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, Ireland.
Europe has been concerned that US-backed trilateral negotiations could leave them sidelined and Kyiv vulnerable as Moscow and Washington decide the fate of a conflict that has roiled the continent.
After talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, US envoys said that Europe would join future negotiations – but the Kremlin appeared to slam the brakes on that plan, saying no decision had been made.
Kyiv is eager for support from European allies, but Moscow does not want European countries involved in direct negotiations, arguing they are financing and supplying Ukraine’s military effort.
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.
“Some here in Dublin fear this could turn into a ‘second Anchorage moment’,” said Merz on the sidelines of the EU meeting, a reference to the Alaska summit where they were stunned by Trump’s overtures to the Russian leader in the absence of Ukrainian or European envoys.
“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’.”
‘Absence of a united voice’
European leaders had previously discussed whether Europe should be represented by one person or a team.
Supporters of a single envoy, like 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. “There are too many different groupings discussing the issue,” she said.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, laid claim to the envoy role earlier on Friday, 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.”
Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, reporting from the summit in Dublin, said that although Kallas put herself forward for the role, “there isn’t unanimous support behind her”, as she is seen by many as “uncompromising” on Russia.
US and Russia seek clarity on European voice
US and Russian diplomats have criticised Europe for not being united.
After the US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia in the United Arab Emirates this week, US envoy Jared Kushner said 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.”
Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said the Kremlin has not confirmed that Putin agreed to expand the trilateral talks to include Europe.
Even though Russian officials say they are ready to talk to European leaders, they have also criticised Europe, our correspondent said, noting that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has even compared European leaders to “spiders in a jar”.
“During the Thursday meeting here at the Kremlin, the Russian side spoke about a revision of security architecture in Europe,” Shapovalova said. But “at the same time, Moscow refuses to keep EU leaders at the negotiating table during the peace talks,” she noted.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
