European leaders want a seat at the table in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, but cannot agree on a common representative. The issue dominated the European Political Community summit in Dublin, which brought together more than 50 heads of state and government and welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky and the US are urging Europe to name a senior envoy.

The background is that the US, Russia and Ukraine are holding trilateral negotiations for the first time since February. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and, on Thursday evening in Dublin, Zelensky, who warned the Europeans that they needed to pay close attention. No concrete decisions appeared to be in prospect in Dublin. Many leaders sidestepped the question, while others spoke in favour of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas or European Council President António Costa. Costa stressed that the EU was working as a team, side by side with its Ukrainian partners.

Frustration at a possible exclusion runs high: Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke of self-inflicted chaos, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called for Europe to be at the table, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called it a big mistake to leave diplomacy to others. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the issue was not about individuals now, but about Putin's willingness to talk.

Key points:

• European leaders agree that they want to be at the negotiating table.
• The European leaders cannot agree on who should take a seat there.
• The issue dominated the talks.

Source: Luxembourg Times (English)