European leaders seek role in Ukraine peace talks amid fears of being sidelined

By Stefan J. Bos

European leaders are struggling to secure a place at the negotiating table as the United States intensifies efforts to end the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could reach agreements affecting the continent’s future without their full involvement.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid surprises during expected talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China next week.

Speaking at a European summit in Dublin, Merz warned against a repeat of their earlier summit in Alaska, where European leaders were sidelined from discussions about Ukraine’s future.

He appealed to Washington to remain part of what he called “Team Europe” and “Team Ukraine,” as diplomatic efforts intensify to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

European role in peace talks

Washington says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to include European representatives in the next round of peace negotiations.

However, Moscow has not confirmed that agreement, with Kremlin officials insisting that Europe must first agree on who would represent it in the negotiations.

Those negotiations are separate from the expected Trump-Putin meeting in China, where European leaders are not expected to participate.

European governments remain divided over whether to appoint a single envoy or send a broader negotiating team, with some arguing that Britain and Norway should also have a voice alongside the European Union.

Russia’s demands for European security

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has warned that Moscow is trying to shift negotiations away from an immediate ceasefire toward demands for changes to Europe’s security arrangements.

She insists that ending the fighting must come first, followed by a peace agreement.

Russia has also opposed proposals to deploy European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine after a ceasefire, arguing that such a presence would threaten its security.

Despite these differences, American envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism following talks with Putin in Moscow.

US envoy claims progress

“I think progress was made today, yes,” Witkoff told reporters. Referring to earlier negotiations in Abu Dhabi, he added: “We restarted it. We set a new meeting, now on top of that.”

Witkoff was referring to renewed three-way negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

Those discussions in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, produced an agreement on a prisoner exchange but failed to achieve a breakthrough over disputed territory.

American envoys subsequently met Putin in Moscow before traveling to Dublin for discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Deadly attacks in Russia, Ukraine

The renewed diplomatic activity has not brought an end to the fighting.

Russian authorities said Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack on an industrial zone in the southern Russian city of Volgograd killed four people and injured two others.

Volgograd, known as Stalingrad during World War Two, is home to a major oil refinery operated by Russian energy company Lukoil. Independent reports indicated that the refinery was also struck, although Russian authorities had not officially confirmed this.

Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in recent weeks, seeking to disrupt facilities that provide important revenue and fuel supplies for Moscow’s war effort.

Russian strikes hit Ukraine

Yet Ukrainian authorities also reported that Russian attacks killed at least three people and injured more than 20 others Friday, including two fatalities in Odesa and another in the Zaporizhzhia region, as strikes on energy infrastructure continued to threaten electricity supplies ahead of winter.

The latest violence underscores the challenges facing Washington’s efforts to secure an agreement nearly five years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

For European leaders, the concern extends beyond ending the immediate fighting.

They fear that a settlement negotiated primarily between Washington and Moscow could leave Ukraine weaker while reshaping Europe’s security arrangements without the continent’s voice.

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos {"@context": "http://schema.org","@type": "AudioObject","@id": "https://media.vaticannews.va/media2/audio/s1/2026/11/13/15/139354172_F139354172.mp3","name": "Audio","description": "Audio","uploadDate" : "2026-11-13T17:01:52.368+01:00","thumbnailUrl" : "https://www.vaticannews.va/etc/designs/vatican-news/release/library/main/images/audio-overlay.250.141.png"}