EU Leaders in Dublin Reject Russian Demands to Reshape European Security Architecture
At the Dublin summit, European leaders rejected the idea of building a new security architecture and stressed that Russia must stop attacking Ukraine. After a US envoy said Europe would join the peace talks, EU leaders continue searching for a single lead negotiator.
European leaders at the European Political Community summit in Dublin, a forum bringing together EU and other European states, on Thursday rejected Russian demands to put European security arrangements on the table in negotiations over the war in Ukraine. On Friday, EU leaders are continuing discussions as they search for a lead negotiator for any peace talks with Russia, while also addressing support for Ukraine and artificial intelligence.
The talks gained urgency after US envoy Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to expand the next round of peace negotiations to include European countries. He made the remark after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin. Kushner wrote on X that the move would allow broader postwar European security arrangements to be addressed alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia. A day earlier, he remarked that Europe naming one person to speak for it would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include it in the talks.
The European position
European Council President António Costa said there was no need to "reinvent the wheel". In his words, Europe had a functioning security architecture until Russia's invasion of Ukraine first gradually undermined it and ultimately destroyed it.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters that Europe in the wider sense, not only the EU, would decide its own arrangements. He stressed that Russian demands to include the question in the negotiations were not up for negotiation.
Around 40 countries, most of the summit's attendees, signed a declaration drafted by France. It states that European countries bear primary responsibility for European security and are assuming greater responsibility in this area.
What comes next
Following interventions by Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prime minister, and Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, EU leaders will on Friday also discuss Europe's role in international peace talks and future financial support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy had earlier urged leaders to pay attention to the security demands made by Vladimir Putin.
