The key facts
- Macron said in Dublin that Europeans themselves will determine their future security
- Merz called on Russia to sit down at the negotiating table face to face with the Europeans
- Kallas proposed a sequence: first a ceasefire, then a peace settlement, and only afterwards the security architecture
Europeans demand a seat at the negotiating table
The leaders of European states have stated that the future of the continent's security architecture cannot be decided without Europeans at the negotiating table. The statement came after a round of peace talks at which the Russian delegation rejected a multilateral format. Moscow has placed the question of the security architecture at the very top of its priorities; Europeans see this as an attempt to divert attention from the war in Ukraine and to advance Russia's long-standing ambition to reassert itself as a great power.
Leaders' positions in Dublin
“Ultimately, it is we, the Europeans, who will define and decide our future security. I have no doubt about that,” said French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday at the leaders' summit in Dublin. According to him, Europe must first clearly define what it wants: at present it is clear in its support for Ukraine, but it now needs to formulate a concrete vision of a peace plan and the future security architecture. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Russia to enter into direct dialogue with European representatives, something Moscow has so far refused to do. “Ukraine must sit at the table. The Europeans must sit at the table. The Americans and, of course, Russia must sit at the table,” he said upon arrival. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda insisted on negotiations “on fair terms” and with the participation of the EU, noting that discussions behind the Ukrainians' back should be avoided.
Kallas: first a ceasefire, then the architecture
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stressed the importance of the sequence of the diplomatic process: first a ceasefire in Ukraine, then a peace settlement, and only at the final stage a discussion of the European security architecture. “We already have a European security architecture,” she said, citing the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the 1990 Paris Charter and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. “The problem is that Russia does not comply with these agreements.” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called the renewed talk of a security architecture a Moscow “trap” aimed at achieving “everything impossible,” including NATO rollback — a claim that Vladimir Putin has made a strategic goal.
The course of the talks in Abu Dhabi
The latest round of talks in Abu Dhabi, involving senior representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Commission, the European Council and NATO, took place without any interaction with the Russian team. A day before the statements in Dublin, the head of the Russian negotiating delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed Moscow's interest in expanding the diplomatic agenda beyond Ukraine to the entire security architecture: “The whole organism is sick, and Ukraine was merely the place where the abscess burst. Therefore, the whole organism must be treated. A simple plaster is not enough.” At the same time, Medinsky refused to engage with the Europeans because of their military and financial support for Ukraine — though this is not a complete ban: a month earlier, Putin held a 90-minute phone call with the leaders of Finland and Norway.
The US role and Kyiv's reaction
The emphasis on the security architecture has been amplified by US President Donald Trump and his special envoy Jared Kushner, who recently surprised Europeans with an extensive social media post setting out the principles of a post-war settlement. While in Abu Dhabi, Kushner asked the Russians to prepare “proposals” for discussion face to face with the Europeans, and then flew to Moscow to secure Putin's “blessing” for moving the talks to a multilateral format. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called this approach “a bit strange” and advised the Europeans to “watch closely” what is happening.
