Europe Seeks a Seat at Ukraine Peace Talks, but Lacks a Single Voice
EU leaders meeting in Dublin broadly agreed that Europe should join the ongoing three-way negotiations between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow, but they debated who should speak for the continent. The Al Jazeera report describes a question that has become more pressing as the United States pursues talks with Russia and Ukraine.
The concern in several European capitals is that Europe could be left out of key decisions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged US President Donald Trump to create no surprises during expected talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China next week. He also warned of a possible "second Anchorage moment," a reference to the Alaska summit where Trump made overtures to Putin without Ukrainian or European envoys present. An envoy is a representative sent to negotiate on someone else's behalf.
On the question of who should be that representative, the views differ. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supports a single European envoy, saying there are too many different groupings discussing the issue. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has claimed the role, saying she represents Europe in foreign and security policy. European Council President Antonio Costa is also seen as a leading contender.
US envoy Jared Kushner said after US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia in the United Arab Emirates that if Europe could agree on one person to speak for it, that would be a bigger achievement than getting Russia to accept European participation.
That question was raised again after talks in Moscow with Putin on Thursday. US envoys said Europe would join future negotiations, while the Kremlin, the Russian government's office, said no decision had been made. Russia opposes the involvement of European countries in direct negotiations, arguing that they are financing and supplying Ukraine's military effort.
