At a recent summit in Paris, France, the UK and Ukraine signed a declaration of intent to deploy a multinational force after a ceasefire with Russia is reached. A number of EU countries, including Italy and France, also want greater involvement in the negotiations.
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As POLITICO reports, citing informed sources, European governments are pressuring the EU to appoint a negotiator to represent their interests on Ukraine, fearing that the US will make a deal with Russia behind their backs.
The publication's sources add that representatives of these two countries have already secured the support of the European Commission and several other states. They emphasize that Europe can adhere to its red lines in the negotiations, such as Ukraine's potential future membership in NATO, only if the European Union has a seat at the negotiating table.
“Macron has been advocating in recent days that, given the bilateral talks between the Americans and the Russians, it is important to play at least some role in the discussion,” said a senior French official. “Meloni was very supportive of that… They are not naive about what can be achieved as a result of these talks, but given the balance between absence and engagement, there is a growing awareness in some capitals of the benefits of engagement.”
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The need for greater European involvement was also emphasized by former US special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker: “It was made clear that Trump is going to continue the dialogue with Putin both directly and through envoys. This is not going to go away. So you need to have your own communication, if it continues – it's not about being in the same room with Americans and Russians, it's about having any communication.”
However, no decision has been made on this issue yet. But, as the publication writes, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaia Kallas “has consistently positioned herself as the only candidate for any role in negotiations on the future of Ukraine.” And Italian Minister Giovanbattista Fazzolari believes that this position could be offered to former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Diplomatic circles also talk about Finnish President Alexander Stubb as a potential representative of Europe. He, by the way, has good relations with US President Donald Trump.
Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba previously said that the next stage of active negotiations to end the war between Ukraine and Russia is possible at the end of February. However, he believes that there is no chance of ending the war by the end of this year.
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