Kallas warns Russia seeks to redirect Ukraine talks

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Nov. 13 against “walking into the traps that Russia is setting” in Ukraine diplomacy, The Guardian reported from an EU leaders’ summit in Dublin.

The warning matters because EU leaders are seeking a place in negotiations after more than two years of on-off talks, while Russia has revived demands rejected in 2021 as infringing eastern European sovereignty.

Kallas said Moscow was trying to shift attention from its aggression by putting European security arrangements back on the agenda. “We have one aggressor and one victim, and the aggressor does not have security concerns,” she said on arrival at the summit.

“Nobody has ever attacked them. They have attacked others. I mean, keep the focus, people,” Kallas said.

The latest round of talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. took place this week in Abu Dhabi, according to The Guardian. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, said on Thursday night that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to widen the next round of peace negotiations to include Europeans, but Russia quickly contradicted that assurance.

European leaders have said they support Ukraine’s participation in any peace process, but want a ceasefire before negotiations. They also say Europe already has a network of security agreements that Russia has violated.

“Russia wants to talk about questions of a European security architecture. We do not need to discuss that; it already exists,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. Merz added that German participation in any European delegation was a “given”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was “self-explanatory that Europe is included in the peace talks to safeguard our interests, but also to support Ukraine”.

Moscow left the format unresolved. The Kremlin said on Friday: “Once we understand [Europe’s] real intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process, then we can make a decision on holding talks in an expanded format.” Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s lead negotiator in Abu Dhabi, said it was “unclear what there is to discuss” with Europe.

The U.S. call to include Europe has intensified a separate question over representation. Paris and Berlin support continued use of the E3 format of Britain, France and Germany alongside EU officials, while smaller EU countries emphasise roles for European Council President António Costa and Kallas.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the representation issue was “slightly overstated”, citing EU interests including financing Kyiv and Ukraine’s future membership in the bloc. He said the E3 was “pretty uncomplicated” and the E5, which also includes Italy and Poland, was “very legitimate”.

Several leaders, including Kallas, also pointed to the UK’s role. Ireland’s taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said the UK and Norway each had a significant role because the issue was “European, continent-wide”. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it was for the EU to decide who would represent the bloc.

Source: news article, The Guardian, Nov. 13, 2026