European leaders have rejected Vladimir Putin's push to overhaul the continent's security architecture as part of Ukraine peace talks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Washington and Moscow are already discussing the issue. The EU's chief diplomat says such talks should wait until Russia agrees a peace deal.
European leaders rejected Putin's push to overhaul the continent's security architecture as part of Ukraine peace talks. Zelenskyy told allies that Washington and Moscow were already discussing the issue.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Thursday, after Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi earlier in the week. There, the Russian delegation raised Europe's security arrangements while refusing to meet European officials.
Costa says there is no need to reinvent the wheel
European Council president António Costa, who hosted Zelenskyy and other leaders in Dublin, said there is no need to reinvent the wheel. He said Europe had a functioning security architecture until Russia's invasion of Ukraine undermined and then destroyed it.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief diplomat, said Europe should only begin such talks after Russia agrees a peace deal. She said focusing on security architecture diverts attention from a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the Abu Dhabi talks involved a lot of talk about security guarantees. According to the FT, he said: "Europe really needs to pay attention," adding that US-Russia talks on these were more about some kind of new security framework between Europe and Russia.
Moscow links security terms to any peace deal
Putin said Moscow's proposals needed discussion before an end to the war was agreed. Yuri Ushakov, his foreign policy adviser, named a ban on Nato expansion as a key Russian term, alongside a return to the configuration of alliance forces when the Nato-Russia founding act was signed in the 1990s.
Many European capitals have read these demands as an attempt by the Kremlin to restore its sphere of influence and infringe on the sovereignty of EU and Nato members.
A US official said Kushner and Witkoff held a constructive and substantive discussion with Putin. The two envoys also said the US wanted Europeans to take part in future talks.
Europe's seat at the table remains unsettled
Three officials told the FT that European capitals are increasingly nervous that agreeing to wider security talks could be the price of a seat in the Ukraine negotiations, something they had spent five years refusing to do.
That unease adds pressure to settle who should represent Europe. European leaders will debate the question in Dublin, hoping to find a name this month.
Source: Financial Times
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