EU expands Ukraine peace team to include Italy and Poland, snubs Kallas

European Union leaders agreed Friday to expand their Ukraine peace negotiation team to include Italy and Poland, alongside France, Germany, Britain, EU institutions, and NATO, rejecting calls for a single special envoy. The decision was made at an informal summit in Dublin. The expanded team formalizes the existing E3 format, which has been effective in recent negotiation rounds in Miami, Oslo, Brussels, and Abu Dhabi. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who had publicly campaigned for the special envoy role, was left out of the new arrangement. The move comes as the US pushes for direct talks with Russia, which has previously refused to engage with European representatives. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, reporting Moscow's willingness for in-person discussions with Europeans.