Italian PM slams EU’s fragmented approach to Ukraine peace talks
In a letter to European Council President António Costa, Giorgia Meloni says multiple negotiating formats are making Europe “less credible” to end the war.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has harshly criticized the European Union's disjointed approach to peace talks with Russia, according to a letter she sent on Thursday to EU Council President António Costa. Meloni decried the fact that European leaders have recently embarked on multiple initiatives, each lacking a unified direction or a clear mandate.
The letter surfaced as E3 leaders – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – convened with US and Ukrainian representatives in Brussels to deliberate on ways to bring an end to the ongoing conflict. "Proceeding in disarray, with initiatives that chase and overlap one another, will not help us, either with our partners or with those we must convince to stop a senseless aggression," the letter reads.
Meloni's domestic political standing has been under scrutiny, with opposition accusing her government of being internationally irrelevant and some within her own majority pushing for a halt to military support for Ukraine. Meloni cited several instances of this disjointedness in her letter, including an informal meeting in Miami involving national security advisors from various European nations, Ukraine, NATO, and EU representatives, as well as a phone conversation between the leaders of Finland and Norway with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She also lambasted the proliferation of negotiation groups, such as the E3, the "Coalition of the Willing" – comprising 37 EU and non-EU states – and the "Berlin format", which consists of Germany, France, Poland, and representatives from NATO, the G7, and the EU. Meloni urged for this matter to be addressed at the informal European Council in Dublin the following week, with the ultimate goal of establishing a unified European representation in the peace negotiations.
A significant round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives, mediated by US officials, is scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, focusing on security arrangements and de-escalation efforts.
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