Kremlin Says Europe Cannot Decide Who Will Represent It in Security Talks

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, November 6, that Europe is still struggling to decide who will represent it in future talks on the continent's security. Such talks could form part of a potential agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Peskov was responding to a question about the role Europe might play in negotiations. On Thursday, officials from the United States, Ukraine, NATO and European countries met in Brussels to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv and a broader European security architecture. U.S. President Donald Trump said "a big agreement" to end the war "might involve all of Europe."

What Peskov said

According to Peskov, the Kremlin has received no ideas from the Europeans and is not aware of any. He said the discussion of Europe's future security system will come up once mutual security guarantees between Russia and Ukraine are addressed, and that at some stage this will be impossible without Europeans. However, he said Europeans have not yet been able to decide who can speak on their behalf, which he described as a sign of "indecision and an unwillingness" to engage with Russia.

Phone call with Putin

The comments came days after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing talks to end the war. Both Finland and Norway said their leaders spoke as representatives of their own countries, not on behalf of Europe as a whole.

Some European leaders criticized the call. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "very skeptical" of the initiative and did not believe Russia wants peace with Ukraine or Europe. Støre defended the call, saying it was important for the Russian leader to hear Europeans' views directly rather than through intermediaries, such as Trump administration officials who are working to broker a peace deal.