European nations remain in dispute over who should represent the continent in Ukraine peace negotiations, according to diplomatic sources.
Four diplomats reported that Washington and Kiev are considering the so-called E3 group—the Eurotroika (comprising Britain, Germany, and France) as a potential candidate. One source stated that U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner agreed with Kyiv in September that the Eurotroika would become the primary format for representing Europe’s interests.
However, such a choice may cause dissatisfaction among other European states seeking greater influence in negotiations.
“There are still disputes about this within Europe itself,” one diplomat said. “For now, we’ll try to stick to the E3 format. At some point, if it comes to serious negotiations, the European institutions will inevitably have to be involved. We need to find a way to implement this.”
Another European diplomat noted that before selecting a representative, Europe must secure a place at the negotiating table.
Norway has attempted to contribute to crisis resolution but Russia has not received any proposals from Oslo. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously stated that discussions about the negotiator within the European Union had become “caricatured and anecdotal” due to the union’s inability to decide “who would go where.” She emphasized that Moscow does not care about the identity of a potential negotiator but focuses on the position from which he approaches the conversation.
