Costa names EU-plus-five team for next round of Ukraine talks

European Council President Antonio Costa said on Friday that the EU will send a team of diplomats, drawn from the 27-nation bloc and five members of the "Coalition of the Willing", to the next round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The five countries are the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. Costa said it was "essential to have a team and to speak with only one voice".

The decision followed a summit focused on how Europe could avoid being shut out of US-led negotiations. Envoys from Kyiv met US and Russian counterparts in Abu Dhabi this week; several European countries attended discussions nearby but not the main talks. US envoy Jared Kushner and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting in Dublin late on Thursday that Europe would be part of the next round, with Zelensky saying it "will have a voice".

EU leaders opted for a team rather than a single envoy, a question that has divided them. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had argued for one voice, saying "there are too many different groupings discussing the issue". Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that "the Europeans squabble like spiders in a jar" and that they should name a representative.

It was not immediately clear who would represent the EU's institutions. The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said: "I'm the one who is representing Europe in the foreign and security policy."

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday at a meeting of the European Political Community in Dublin: "Without Europeans, there is no support for Ukraine. There is no more US support."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said calling the talks negotiations was "an exaggeration". German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said European leaders feared another "Anchorage moment", a reference to the Alaska summit where they were stunned by Trump's overtures to the Russian leader in the absence of Ukrainian or European envoys.