Ukraine-Russia Talks: Europe at the Table with Five Countries, EU Included

Europeans will also take part in the next Ukraine-Russia negotiations. This was announced by Jared Kushner, special envoy of Donald Trump, according to whom Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to expand the table.¹² It remained to be determined who would speak on behalf of Europe. On Friday afternoon, EU leaders meeting in Dublin named France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Italy, together with representatives of the European Council and the Commission.²³

What Kushner Announced

Kushner wrote on social media that three days of diplomacy had produced “significant progress”. They moved from trilateral talks with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, then to Moscow for direct talks with Vladimir Putin, and finally to Dublin to meet Volodymyr Zelensky.¹ At the close of the day, the envoy consulted the national security advisers of Ukraine, Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, Poland and the European Union.¹ According to the envoy, the expanded round will address the arrangements for post-war European security together with the territorial issues between Kyiv and Moscow. Kushner argues that bringing the conflict to a stable end requires reliable security guarantees, deconfliction tools (that is, means to prevent incidents between the parties) and mutual commitments to reduce tensions.¹ After the meeting with the Americans, Zelensky spoke of greater European involvement “on an equal footing”. He also reported that a prisoner exchange is being prepared that could surpass all previous ones of the war in size.²

Who Was Supposed to Represent Europe?

Before the decision, the question was open. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a single European voice and objected to the multiplication of negotiating formats, while France and Germany preferred to start from the E3 format, that is, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.²³ On the institutional side, according to Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, several leaders backed European Council President António Costa, while others felt that Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, should also have a role. Kallas said that she is the one who represents the Union’s foreign policy, while Metsola urged focusing on how to reach peace rather than on who negotiates it.² Martin did not expect a decision on the day in Dublin and hoped it would come at the European Council on 26 November in Brussels. The EU presidency had indicated that a decision on who represents Europe in the negotiations should be made within two weeks.²⁴

What the Twenty-Seven Decided

Contrary to pre-meeting expectations, the informal European Council resolved the question within a few hours. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Italy will sit at the table, with representatives of the European Council and the Commission.³ According to Adnkronos, the choice is the result of pressure from the United States and from Zelensky, who is counting on European support at the table.³ Repubblica writes that the format used in Abu Dhabi is confirmed, with two more seats, and that for now the idea of a single spokesperson has been dropped. It adds that the Kremlin maintains its ambiguity.⁵ On NATO’s role, the accounts differ. Three concordant sources report that the Alliance should take part in the negotiations, while a fourth diplomatic source rules it out. According to the latter, the security guarantees “are provided by the E3” and he does not see Putin negotiating with NATO.³ Costa said that the issue of security guarantees must go through the coalition of the willing, with close coordination with the Atlantic Alliance.³

What Changes

The expanded table, as Kushner describes it, will address post-war European security and territorial questions together.¹² In Dublin the choice fell on a group of five countries flanked by the European Council and the Commission, and for now the idea of a single spokesperson has been dropped, according to Repubblica.³⁵ The role of NATO, on which diplomatic sources do not agree, and Moscow’s attitude, which according to Repubblica remains ambiguous, remain uncertain.³⁵

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Ucraina-Russia, l’inviato speciale di Trump: “Progressi significativi nei negoziati”, agi.it, 2026-11-13 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Ucraina, anche gli europei ai prossimi negoziati con la Russia. Kushner: «Progressi significativi», Domani, 2026-11-13 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Ucraina, Europa ha scelto i rappresentanti al tavolo di pace: 5 Paesi più Commissione e Consiglio Ue. C’è anche l’Italia, Adnkronos, 2026-11-13 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. Presidenza Ue: ‘Decidere entro due settimane chi rappresenta l’Europa ai negoziati’, ANSA, 2026-11-13 ↩

5. Russia, l’Europa trova l’intesa: il tavolo dei negoziati si allarga a Italia e Polonia, la Repubblica · Esteri, 2026-11-14 ↩ ↩² ↩³