Meloni Urges EU to Establish Clear Leadership in Ukraine Peace Negotiations

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticised what she described as Europe’s “disorderly” approach to negotiations over the war in Ukraine, calling on the European Union to establish a clear representative and mandate for speaking on its behalf.

In a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa, seen by AFP on Thursday, Meloni expressed concern over the growing number of diplomatic meetings being held in different formats to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine.

She warned that the lack of coordination was undermining Europe’s credibility on one of the most complex international issues facing its member states.

“All this is making us look utterly lacking in credibility in handling one of the most complicated dossiers our nations are facing,” Meloni wrote.

She added that portraying Europe as divided and disorganised risked serving the interests of those seeking to prolong the conflict.

Meloni pointed to recent discussions in Miami and Oslo, as well as meetings in Brussels involving representatives from Ukraine, the United States, several European countries, NATO and the EU. She also referred to a phone conversation between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Italian prime minister said she would not support what she considered an increasingly fragmented diplomatic process.

“Proceeding in disarray, with initiatives that chase and overlap one another, will not help us, neither with our partners nor with those we must convince to stop a senseless aggression,” she wrote.

Meloni urged EU leaders to decide “once and for all” who should represent the bloc at the negotiating table and what authority that representative should have.

She clarified that her proposal was not intended to secure a negotiating role for herself or for Italy.

Instead, she called for the issue to be discussed at an EU leaders’ summit in Dublin this month, with a formal decision to be adopted at a subsequent meeting in December.

“Otherwise, I fear we risk condemning Europe to irrelevance in the negotiating process,” she warned.

Meloni had previously proposed appointing a single EU envoy to handle negotiations on Ukraine at the beginning of the year, but the initiative failed to gain momentum.

The dispute comes as European governments seek a greater role in diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, amid renewed US-led efforts to revive negotiations.

Washington, after earlier diplomatic initiatives largely stalled, is expected to hold meetings with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi next week.