Germany's Merz: Ball in Putin's court to advance Ukraine peace talks

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to hold negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine with European participation.

"I expect the Russian government, and the Russian president, to finally agree to hold joint talks," Merz told journalists on Thursday, arriving at a summit of European leaders in Dublin.

Ukraine and Russia resumed direct US-mediated talks on ending the war on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi for the first time in several months.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Thursday to try and persuade him that European countries should also have a seat at the table in future peace talks.

Kushner said he and Witkoff planned to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when they travelled on to Dublin later on Thursday.

Zelensky: US-Russia talks require European attention

"We need to make sure that Europe becomes a regular part of these negotiations," said Zelensky, as he addressed around 40 European leaders gathered in Dublin for the European Political Community (EPC) summit.

The talks in Abu Dhabi also focused on security guarantees, a topic requiring Europe's attention, Zelensky said.

"When the Americans and Russians talk about this, it's not just about security guarantees for Ukraine. In fact, it's more about some kind of new security framework between Europe and Russia," he added.

Ukraine was awaiting more details on the envisaged arrangements, Zelensky said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the success of the ongoing diplomatic efforts "depends now on the Russians, whether they are willing to play ball."

Debate on EU negotiator back on the agenda

On the reignited debate on who is best placed to represent Europe in peace talks with Russia and Ukraine, Merz sees Germany, France and the United Kingdom as the main European players.

The three countries, known as the E3, have so far led European diplomatic efforts, occasionally joined by representatives from Poland or Italy.

"I see absolutely no problem with keeping things that way," Merz said.

French President Emmanuel Macron also stressed the importance of the three countries' initiatives.

Other EU leaders appeared less decided ahead of a discussion scheduled for Friday, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the issue to be resolved.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden backed European Council President António Costa for the role.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that, under EU rules, the negotiating roles would fall to Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and herself.

While EU leaders could decide otherwise, Kallas said, reaching agreement would be difficult.