The leaders of the European Union countries have declared that the issue of Europe’s security should not be part of negotiations on reaching a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. However, they have failed to reconcile who should represent Europe in the upcoming talks.
European leaders’ statements come after the Kremlin has indicated that Russia is open to European countries’ participation in peace negotiations, if they are willing to contribute to the process.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has named the Kremlin’s comments as the old game, saying that Europe and the United States have a clear stance on the matter.
There will be no discussions on Ukraine without Ukraine and no discussions on Europe without Europe. Furthermore, there is no need to talk about European security architecture. We already have it, Merz declared before journalists during the summit of European Union leaders in Dublin.
Russian officials have demanded that a broader agreement for security architecture in Europe be reached before discussing the details of the war.
Prior to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia had demanded the withdrawal of NATO forces from countries that had joined the alliance after 1997, which had been rejected by NATO.
Meanwhile, US negotiator Jared Kouchner has indicated that on Thursday in Moscow he had launched discussions with European partners for the continent’s security architecture.
European Union diplomacy chief Kaya Kallas has warned that Russia’s calls for discussions on European security risk turning attention away from the need for reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine. Latvia’s prime minister, Andris Kulbergs, has also described such discussions as frurth.
According to a diplomat and a European official, during a meeting Thursday, leaders of Poland, Baltic and Nordic countries have warned against discussions with the US or Russia about Europe’s security architecture.
Meanwhile, 40 European countries, gathered in a broader format in Dublin, have signed a declaration stressing that any issues affecting Europe’s security should be decided with Europeans’ own involvement.
Europe still saw a single representative
Despite the reconciliation that Europe should speak in a voice in future negotiations, leaders have failed to determine who will represent it.
German Chancellor Merz has cited several possible forms of European representation, including European Union institutions and the E3th format, which belong to France, Germany and Great Britain.
There are institutional forms of EU representation ya Kallas, for example, is part of this but also E3 format has proved very effective, Merz said.
He has added that Italy and Poland are always involved in these discussions.
Representatives from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union have participated in talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. Both Moscow and Kiev have reported some progress, although there has not been any decisive progress on key issues, such as territories.
Swedish Prime Minister Wolf Christersson also stressed that Great Britain should be part of any future negotiations, given its military power in Europe.
According to him, a format that would include Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and EU institutions would be appropriate.
I’m very flexible for this. I think what we really say is more important than the correct configuration of people who will be on the table has been declared Christersson.
Source Layer: Dukeagini