Fifty heads of state gather in Dublin for major European summit

Detailed summary

The war in Ukraine will be among issues discussed as Ireland hosts the ninth meeting of the European Political Community.

Fifty heads of state are gathering in the Irish capital to discuss the war in Ukraine and other major issues.

The biggest security operation in the history of the Irish state has been mounted in Dublin as Taoiseach Micheál Martin hosts the ninth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Dublin on Wednesday night and had talks with Mr Martin, then thanked Ireland for its “unwavering support”.

Mr Zelensky said he expects to receive an update from US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner after recent talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is among leaders set to arrive on Thursday, flying in after attending the UN Cop31 climate conference in Turkey.

He is expected to announce further sanctions against Russia and discuss hybrid threats to European security.

At the EPC summit, Mr Burnham is expected to co-chair a security and defence roundtable, attend an Ukraine meeting and hold a series of bilateral talks.

He has recently reopened the debate about Britain’s future relationship with the EU and ahead of a summit in Brussels next Friday.

Mr Burnham’s spokesman told reporters on Wednesday: “You can expect a focus on Ukraine, particularly following the peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week, and of course the EU summit.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Evening Standard. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.