EU seeks 'united voice' ahead of Ukraine peace talks

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Events in Moscow gave the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin a hard edge, shining a sharper spotlight than might have been expected on Micheál Martin's master of…

Events in Moscow gave the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin a hard edge, shining a sharper spotlight than might have been expected on Micheál Martin's master of ceremonies role.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, on his third visit to Ireland in 12 months, has been trying to keep a grip on the Trump administration’s latest peace initiative, including two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, at which a European delegation turned up but was then sidelined by Russia.

He also announced that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system was - once again - mysteriously downgraded, hindering Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian ballistic missile and jet-powered drone attacks.

Then, unexpectedly, just before the EPC kicked off, it was announced that President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would bounce from Abu Dhabi to the Kremlin and on to Baldonnel Aerodrome in Dublin (surely an itinerary first) to bring news of Vladimir Putin’s views on Europe’s potential involvement in the process.

Having addressed the EPC plenary session at the Convention Centre and attended a Friends of Ukraine meeting on the margins, with UK prime minister Andy Burnham, President Zelensky then high-tailed it to a frigid aerodrome for talks with Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff.

Following an hour-long meeting, the three emerged to confirm that Europe would be invited to the next talks in Abu Dhabi next week.

"Europe will be [part of] the negotiation team," said Mr Zelensky, "not sideways, not separately. They will have a voice. This is important for us because the war is in Europe".

Mr Kushner added: "We cannot conclude this deal without the Europeans being at the table. We’ve been telling President Putin that we believe that it's very important and that President Zelensky has been a very strong supporter… I think that we're able to achieve that with President Putin and he's willing to give it a try."

However, after his meeting with the envoys, Mr Putin laid the blame for the…

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