The office of the head of the European Council, António Costa, confirmed the first brief contacts with the Kremlin. Brussels is thus cautiously opening channels with Moscow during the war in Ukraine.
The office of the President of the European Council, António Costa, established brief diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin. This was reported by the AFP agency on Wednesday, citing an unnamed European representative, writes TASR.
- The EU President’s office established brief contacts with the Kremlin.
- Contacts were diplomatic, negotiations on fundamental matters did not take place.
- Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have been suspended since the conflict with Iran.
“In recent weeks, there have been brief contacts at the diplomatic level with the aim of opening communication channels, but fundamental matters have not been discussed,” said an EU official on condition of anonymity.
US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war have been on hold since the start of the Iran-US conflict. Several leaders therefore call for the EU to take a more active role in discussions with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who will attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, called for it.
“In any future scenario, the EU has specific interests that will need to be defended, which is why it is important to have diplomatic channels open with Russia,” the EU official said. “The Union is not a mediator. It supports Ukraine in its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace,” he emphasized.
