Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that Ukraine’s European allies must appoint a single representative for negotiations with Russia on ending the war, as individual groups of countries cannot represent the entire European Union.
Last Sunday, the leaders of the UK, France and Germany, who form part of the informal E3 cooperation group, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expressed support for Kyiv’s proposal to hold talks with Russia to achieve a ceasefire.
Meloni, who has consistently supported Ukraine, stated that Europe needs to engage with Moscow to end the conflict, but that no limited group of states has the “legitimacy to speak on behalf of everyone”.
“I have long advocated the need to identify an authoritative figure, endowed with the trust and mandate of all European Union member states, to represent Europe,” she said in parliament ahead of next week’s EU summit and G7 leaders’ meeting.
She also emphasised that efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine require closer coordination between Europe and the US, describing this as “a task that is not always easy, but necessary”.
