After months of hesitation, EU leaders have agreed that five major military powers and EU institutions will represent Europe at the next round of Ukraine peace talks.
Reuters reported that European Council President Antonio Costa announced on Friday (13 November) that the team representing Europe at the next round of Russia-Ukraine talks would comprise France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK and EU institutions.
The question of who should speak for the continent had previously left the parties hesitating for months.
“Europe must speak with one clear voice and united voice in all discussion that shape the future of Ukraine and the security of our continent. And this is ultimately a team effort,” Costa told a press conference at the end of the European Political Community summit in Dublin, Ireland, that day.
The Kremlin said earlier that day that Russia would welcome European countries’ participation in Ukraine peace talks if it believed they were genuinely committed to contributing to peace in Ukraine.
Russian officials also called for a broad agreement on Europe’s security architecture before discussing specific details of the war.
US presidential envoy Jared Kushner said in Moscow the previous day that he had begun discussions with European partners on Europe’s security architecture.
Representatives from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the EU attended talks on the Russia-Ukraine situation in Abu Dhabi this week. This marked the first resumption of negotiations brokered by US President Donald J. Trump’s administration after a nine-month hiatus.
Both Moscow and Kyiv said the talks had made some progress, but there were no signs of a substantive breakthrough on key issues such as territory.
