EU leaders in Dublin wary of Russian traps as Europe is invited to Ukraine talks

Envoys open the door

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, 12 November, then held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin the same day. They reported that Russia had given the green light for the next round of talks to include Europeans. Europe's leaders gathered for an informal EU summit in Dublin on Friday, 13 November, and weighed the offer with caution. Earlier in the week, European officials were in Abu Dhabi while Kyiv and Moscow talked under US supervision, but they waited in the corridors and held only separate consultations with Washington and Kyiv. No European representative therefore sat in the trilateral talks with Russia, and Kushner said a peace deal cannot be concluded without the Europeans at the negotiating table.

Kremlin conditions and Europe's team

The Kremlin said on Friday that it had not yet lifted its veto on European participation. Dmitri Peskov, the presidential spokesman, said Moscow wants to understand the Europeans' true intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process before deciding on talks in an expanded format, and he expected a new round to take place fairly quickly without naming a date. Friedrich Merz dismissed this as the usual game, saying an agreement with the Americans had been clearly stated on Thursday evening. Five countries, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, will form the European team with representatives of the Commission and the European Council, a line-up that Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro outlined earlier and European Council President Antonio Costa confirmed at the close of the summit. On territorial and sovereignty questions, Costa said, only Ukraine would be legitimate, while the EU would play a central role in accession, reconstruction and the use of immobilised Russian assets. Von der Leyen, speaking on her arrival in Dublin, said:

“I think it goes without saying that Europe is taking part in the peace talks to protect our interests, but also to support Ukraine.”

Security architecture dispute

Jared Kushner wrote on X that European participation should allow broader post-war European security arrangements to be addressed, beyond territorial questions between Ukraine and Russia. Many European states see the security architecture debate as an old Putin refrain that preceded the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, warned against taking that bait:

“If we start talking about what Russia asks regarding the security architecture, we fall into the traps Russia lays for us.”

Merz countered that there is no need to discuss the architecture, since it already exists around NATO and the EU.

Merz asks Trump for no surprises

Merz asked US President Donald Trump not to create surprises at a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin in China. He told reporters at the Dublin summit:

“Please, no surprises. Stay within Team Europe and Team Ukraine, and let us work together on a genuine peace in Ukraine.”

The Trump-Putin encounter is not yet confirmed, but is expected on 18 or 19 November around the APEC summit in China. Some in Ukraine fear a Yalta-style arrangement in which three powers would decide Europe's fate in its absence.

Drone attacks overnight

Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 1,198 Ukrainian drones overnight. Local authorities in the Volgograd region said the attack killed four people. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Russian messaging app Max that 467 drones reached the Moscow region on the night of Thursday to Friday, most of them neutralised by Russian defences. The announcements came a day after the US envoys' visit to Moscow.

Downed, Russian Defence Ministry1,198

Reached Moscow region, Sobyanin467

Downed, Russian Defence Ministry

1198 drones

Reached Moscow region, Sobyanin

467 drones

Data from the article text