Europe seeks seat at Ukraine peace talks but lacks unified voice

European leaders have agreed to send a team of diplomats from the European Union and five individual countries to the next round of Ukraine peace talks, aiming to avoid being sidelined in negotiations. European Council President Antonio Costa announced on Friday that the continent will be represented by officials from the 27-nation EU bloc and five members of the 'Coalition of the Willing' that backs Ukraine: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland.

European concerns

Europe has been concerned that US-backed trilateral negotiations could leave them sidelined and Kyiv vulnerable as Moscow and Washington decide the fate of a conflict that has roiled the continent for nearly five years. After talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, US envoys said that Europe would join future negotiations, but the Kremlin appeared to slam the brakes on that plan, saying no decision had been made.

Kyiv is eager for support from European allies, but Moscow does not want European countries involved in direct negotiations, arguing they are financing and supplying Ukraine's military effort. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pleaded earlier on Friday for US President Donald Trump to create no surprises during expected talks with Putin in China next week.

Unity challenges

European leaders had previously discussed whether Europe should be represented by one person or a team. Supporters of a single envoy, like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, argued that the absence of a united European voice has allowed individual countries or small groups to engage in freelance diplomacy.

There are too many different groupings discussing the issue, Meloni noted. The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, laid claim to the envoy role earlier on Friday, saying she is representing Europe in foreign and security policy. However, Al Jazeera's Milena Veselinovic reported that although Kallas put herself forward, there isn't unanimous support behind her, as she is seen by many as uncompromising on Russia.

US and Russian diplomats have criticised Europe for not being united. After the US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia in the UAE this week, US envoy Jared Kushner said that if Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in the negotiation.

Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova reported from Moscow that the Kremlin has not confirmed that Putin agreed to expand the trilateral talks to include Europe. Russian officials have compared European leaders to 'spiders in a jar', while speaking about a revision of security architecture in Europe, she noted.