Leaders meet in Dublin amid search for lead EU negotiator for peace talks with Russia - Europe live

Their discussions are becoming increasingly urgent, after Ukraine and Russia have agreed to expand the next round of peace negotiations to include European countries, US envoy Jared Kushner said last night after meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin.

"This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia," Kushner said later on X.

European Security

European leaders meeting in Dublin on Thursday rejected calls that there was any need to recreate a European security architecture, while restating that Russia needed to stop attacking Ukraine.

European Council president António Costa summed it up: "There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Europe had a functioning European security architecture until it was first, gradually undermined, and ultimately destroyed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

Speaking to reporters, the UK prime minister Andy Burnham said Europe "in the wider sense" would decide on its own arrangements. "It is for Europe to decide its own arrangements. Europe and Europe alone," he stated.

International Declaration

Around 40 countries, most attendees of the European Political Community summit on Thursday, signed a declaration drafted by France declaring that European states "bear a primary responsibility and are assuming greater responsibility for the security of Europe".

EU leaders are continuing talks in Dublin on Friday, focusing on AI. Following interventions from Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz, they will also discuss Europe's role in international peace talks and future financial support for Ukraine.