Europe sends entire negotiating team to talks with Russia

Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Poland, together with the EU institutions, are to represent the Europeans in Ukraine talks with Russia. The heads of state and government of the EU states had agreed on this, said EU Council President António Costa after the conclusion of a summit meeting in Dublin. Politico first reported on the decision.

However, it remains unclear who would sit at the table in talks with US President Donald Trump, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On Friday night, the USA signaled that Russian President Putin was ready to allow the Europeans to the negotiating table in Ukraine peace talks. There is agreement to include the European partners in the next round of negotiations, said US negotiator Jared Kushner. It is expected that the schedule and further details will be announced shortly.

“The federal government welcomes this decision and sees its previous negotiating practices confirmed,” a German government spokesman told Politico. “It is now important to concentrate on the content of a peace solution.”

The agreement on the negotiating team was preceded by a lengthy debate. Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently made it clear that he fully expects Germany to participate directly in the peace talks. “There should be concrete peace talks in which Europe is represented for the first time in the next few weeks,” said Merz in Dublin. “Germany is involved, that is completely clear.”

At the most recent peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives from the federal government as well as delegates from France, Great Britain, the EU and NATO were present.