Five European countries are going to participate in the meeting, and the prospects for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are uncertain.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 14 European Council President Costa announced on November 13 that European leaders have reached an agreement on the arrangements for the participation of representatives in the next round of peace negotiations in Ukraine on the same day. The European negotiating team will consist of representatives from the EU institutions and the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. In recent months, Europe has been debating the issue of who will have a unified voice.
However, although "who is at the table" has been agreed upon, there are doubts about mutual trust between the parties. The rift between Europe and the US has not been resolved. Although Russia is open to European participation, it has conditions attached, making the prospects for negotiations uncertain.
The European team finally announced.
European leaders held an informal meeting in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, on the 13th. Costa, who chaired the meeting, announced the composition of the aforementioned team after the meeting. "Europe must speak with a clear and united voice in all discussions shaping the future of Ukraine and the security of our (European) continent. This is ultimately a team effort," he said.
It is not clear who will represent the European Union. Earlier speculation focused on Costa and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Callas.
European leaders have previously been united in their desire to have a seat at the negotiating table, but debated whether Europe should be represented by one person or a team, the Associated Press reported.
Russia's presidential press secretary Peskov said on the 12th that "the Europeans are bickering like spiders in a jar" and they should appoint a representative.
After the tripartite talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine, the son-in-law of US President Kushner also said, "If Europe can identify someone to speak on their behalf, it will achieve greater results than asking the Russians to accept them for negotiations."
The main part of the negotiations remains to be decided.
Trilateral talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine ended on the 11th in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The parties reached an agreement on personnel exchanges that were perceived on a large scale. However, "major differences" still exist on key issues such as the end of the conflict, territorial disputes, Ukraine's security guarantees and Europe's future security architecture.
מנתחי תקשורת מאמינים כי בשלב זה, רוסיה דוחפת לבחון מחדש את ארכיטקטורת הביטחון האירופית, וגם התוכנית האמריקאית עומדת להיחשף, מה שהופך את אירופה לעוד יותר אי-נוחות. חלק מבכירי האיחוד האירופי מאמינים כי המוקד של המשא ומתן צריך להיות בסיום המשבר באוקראינה שעוכב במשך שנים רבות, במקום לדון בהסדרי ביטחון רחבים. רוסיה מתעקשת כי יש לגבש תחילה עקרונות בסיסיים בנושאים הקשורים להסדרה הכוללת של המשבר כגון שטח ומעמדה הצבאי של אוקראינה. אחרת, הפסקת אש רק תיתן לאוקראינה מרווח נשימה.
The Russian Kremlin said on the 13th that if it sees that European countries really intend to contribute to peace, Russia will be open to participating in peace negotiations in Ukraine. However, Russian officials called for a broad consensus on the European security architecture before discussing specific issues related to the conflict.
Some European leaders deeply distrust the US-brokered talks. Polish Prime Minister Tusk said on the 12th: "In my opinion, to call it a negotiation is an exaggeration. We will not build a new security architecture just because the Russian president or someone in the US wants it."
German Chancellor Martz told reporters during the meeting: "Without Ukraine, there would be no discussion about Ukraine; without Europe, there would be no discussion about Europe. In addition, there is no need to talk about the European security architecture, we already have this architecture."