Europe pushes for seat at Ukraine peace talks but lacks unified voice

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European nations are looking for an envoy to represent them in talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war

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European nations are seeking an envoy to represent them in talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, concerned that a U.S.-backed process will leave them sidelined as Moscow and Washington decide the fate of a conflict that has roiled the continent.

Whether that should be one individual or more and who it might be is being debated as leaders from the 27-nation European Union meet Friday at a summit in Dublin. Senior EU officials and politicians have been suggested, but there is not yet a consensus.

What the job might entail is also unclear and contested. But there is broad agreement by governments from the U.K. to Ukraine on the need for Europe to join the ongoing negotiations involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington.

Ukraine is eager for backup from its European allies, as it's reluctant to leave the talks solely in the hands of a U.S. administration that has often seemed to lean toward Moscow’s views. Russia does not want European countries involved in direct negotiations, complaining they are financing and supplying Ukraine’s military effort.

And the Europeans do not trust U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate on their behalf after a series of tense standoffs over trade, Greenland and conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.

“Without Europeans, there is no support for Ukraine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the European Political Community meeting in Dublin on Thursday. “There is no more U.S. support."

“At the end of the day, we will be the ones to define and decide for our future security as Europeans,” he said.

European leaders fear Russian President Vladimir Putin will press Trump to back a peace settlement that weakens not just Ukraine but broader European security. Putin has demanded NATO troops be pulled back from Russia’s borders and that no European forces be deployed in Ukraine.

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