France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom, alongside European Union institutions, will represent Europe in negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict, European Council President António Costa announced on Friday…reports Asian Lite News Desk
The announcement came amid renewed diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia. European leaders stressed the need for a united position to protect Ukraine’s interests and safeguard European security.
“Today the Leaders agreed that the European Team for negotiations on peace in Ukraine is the EU institutions and the E5 of the Coalition of the Willing – France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. Our principles and our positions in these negotiations remain well known. And our European team will continue to act in full unity and in close coordination with all Member States,” Costa said in a post on X.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the renewed diplomatic momentum and said Europe’s participation would be essential to securing a lasting settlement.
“I welcome the renewed momentum to move things forward to a just and lasting peace. A strong European presence is important. We have agreed on a European team – E5 plus EU Institutions. We will defend both Ukraine’s and Europe’s interests,” she said.
Von der Leyen said Europe’s objective in multilateral discussions involving the US, Ukraine and Russia was to end the war while securing strong guarantees and a framework for Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
“As we move towards multilateral talks with the US, Ukraine and Russia, our goal is clear: End the war and secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. This means strong security guarantees and a plan for Ukraine’s post-war prosperity,” she said.
She added that continued support for Kyiv and greater pressure on Moscow would be needed to bring Russia to the negotiating table. The European Commission would soon propose its 22nd sanctions package and a plan to address Ukraine’s financing gap for 2027, she said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also confirmed the arrangement, describing the negotiations as crucial for Europe’s future security.
“Five European countries—France, Italy, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom (E5)—and European institutions will represent Europe in negotiations with Russia, Ukraine and the USA. At stake are peace in Ukraine and the security of Poland and all of Europe. This is our time,” Tusk said on X.
The announcement follows renewed diplomatic engagement facilitated by Washington. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently held discussions with US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Ireland.
The meeting followed their talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Discussions focused on humanitarian issues, greater European involvement in peace negotiations and further diplomatic engagement.
Zelenskyy said the Ireland meeting had produced three key outcomes, including preparations for what could become the largest prisoner exchange since the conflict began.
“First, a humanitarian outcome – prisoners will be released, and we are counting on the largest prisoner exchange since the start of this war,” he said in a post on X.
He also welcomed greater European participation, saying Kyiv wanted European representatives to have an equal position at the negotiating table.
“The second outcome – we are involving European representatives even more actively in diplomacy so that they can have an equal seat at the negotiating table. Ukraine always defends the interests of all of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ireland discussions followed talks between Witkoff, Kushner and Putin at the Kremlin. These came after two days of trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi. The talks ended without a breakthrough but reportedly made progress on several issues, including preparations for a prisoner exchange.
Major differences remain over territorial arrangements and future security guarantees. During the Kremlin discussions, Putin reiterated Moscow’s opposition to deploying foreign troops in Ukraine after a potential peace agreement.
“The presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory is absolutely unacceptable to us,” Putin said.
The formation of the European negotiating team marks an effort by the continent’s leaders to secure a unified voice in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
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