Kallas: Russia is “setting traps” in Ukraine peace talks

The EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas, urged on Friday against “walking into the traps that Russia is setting” as she arrived at an EU leaders' summit in Dublin. She said Moscow was trying to open a debate about European security to distract from its aggression against Ukraine. At the summit, EU leaders also agreed who would represent Europe in possible peace talks on the war.

“We have one aggressor and one victim, and the aggressor does not have security concerns,” Kallas said. She added that nobody has attacked Russia, while it has attacked others.

The negotiating format

In the talks, Russia has revived hardline demands for a total overhaul of European security. Similar demands were rejected in 2021 because they were seen as infringing the sovereignty of central and eastern European countries. The latest round of talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US took place this week in Abu Dhabi.

US President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner said on Thursday night that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to include Europeans in the next round. Russia quickly contradicted this. On Friday the Kremlin said it would decide on an expanded format once it understood Europe's real intentions. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's lead negotiator in Abu Dhabi, said it was unclear what there was to discuss with Europe.

European Council President António Costa said after the summit that leaders had agreed on a negotiating team: the EU institutions and the E5 countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. “Europe must speak with one clear and united voice,” he said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a European security architecture already exists and does not need to be discussed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Europe's inclusion in talks self-explanatory. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson considered the debate over representation “slightly overstated” and backed several formats. Several participants, including Kallas, also stressed the importance of involving the UK.