DUBLIN (Reuters) – European Union leaders have agreed that Europe’s team for Ukraine peace talks will comprise five major military powers – non-member Britain plus France, Germany, Italy and Poland – and EU institutions, European Council president Antonio Costa has said, after months of wavering over who will speak for the continent.
“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, who chairs EU summits, told a press conference at the end of a leaders’ meeting in Dublin on Nov 13.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia would be open to European countries taking part in Ukraine peace talks if it saw they genuinely intended to contribute to peace. Russian officials have also called for a broad agreement on Europe’s security architecture to be reached before specifics of the war are addressed.
U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner said in Moscow on Thursday that he had begun discussions with European partners on the continent’s security architecture.
Representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the EU attended Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi this week, where both Moscow and Kyiv cited some progress, though there was no sign of a breakthrough on key issues such as territory.
EU officials said the representatives for Europe in future talks were likely to be national security advisers from the five military powers, plus delegates from the European Commission and the European Council, the body for EU governments. NATO is also expected to be represented.
Before the war, Russia demanded the withdrawal of NATO forces from countries that joined the alliance after 1997. NATO rejected the demand.