There is a sense of greater optimism among European leaders about progress in efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
The Taoiseach attended a quickly convened meeting of European leaders in Luanda, the capital of Angola, ahead of a summit between the EU and the African Union.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Antonio Costa also attended. Other EU leaders joined the meeting via video link.
Mr Martin said the atmosphere of the meeting was more positive than the impromptu meeting of leaders during the G20 in South Africa on Saturday, in the immediate wake of the US 28-point peace plan being published.
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That plan was widely criticised for conceding too much to Russia, including territory that it does not hold or, indeed, has never held.
In the interim, US secretary of state Marco Rubio and his officials held a series of meetings with senior Ukrainian figures in Geneva over the course of the weekend, from which emerged proposals more favourable to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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“There were some positive steps taken yesterday, and progress was made in respect of those talks and those engagements,” the Taoiseach said in a briefing to the media immediately after the EU meeting.
“It is very clear that Europe has key decisions to make, and the EU Council meeting in December will now be a very key moment and important meeting in respect of Europe’s contribution to all of this.”
Also describing it as a “dangerous moment” for the future of Ukraine, Mr Martin said the EU leaders had discussed the financing of Ukraine into the future, its ambitions to join the EU, and security guarantees for the country into the future.
“Strong support for President Zelenskiy came from the meeting,” said the Taoiseach.
“There continues to be a tremendous loss of life in this war. There is an imperative to end that because the loss of life is on a scale that’s very difficult to comprehend.”
He said it was a bit premature to make predictions of a successful conclusion but accepted that the atmosphere and mood was more positive than it was in South Africa on Saturday.
“Given where we were two days ago, it’s fair to say that some progress has been made, and that we’re in a better process. President Zelenskiy is engaging very actively with the United States, and it’s clear The United States feel it’s time to put an end to the bloodshed.”
He added: “One does get the sense that there’s an opportunity that, if genuine engagement occurs, we could be on track to something more positive. It is difficult and challenging to predict with certainty.”
European Council president Antonio Costa pledged on Monday that the European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine, as he hailed “new momentum” in peace negotiations to end the war triggered by Russia’s invasion.
“The European Union is committed to continue providing president Zelenskiy with all the support he needs - diplomatic support, military support, economic support,” he told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda.
European allies said they were not involved in crafting the original plan. They released a counter-proposal that would ease some of the proposed territorial concessions and include a Nato-style security guarantee from the United States for Ukraine if it is attacked.
“We are, of course, closely monitoring the media reports that have been pouring in from Geneva over the past few days, but we have not yet received anything official,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said Mr Trump had expressed an openness to a jointly developed peace plan for Ukraine.
“And that is precisely what the representatives of Ukraine, the United States of America and the European member states achieved yesterday in Geneva,” said Mr Merz in Luanda.
“We welcome the fact that these talks took place in Geneva. We also welcome the interim result. Some issues were clarified, but we also know: Peace in Ukraine won’t happen overnight.”
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said any agreement must not weaken Ukraine or Europe.
“This is a delicate matter because no one wants to discourage Americans and President Trump from having the United States on our side in this process,” he said.
“There is no agreement that a military weakening, or so-called limits on the number of troops in Ukraine, is a condition for peace,” he added.
