Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever called on the EU to obtain a mandate from member states to negotiate with Russia, as it has so far failed to convince Moscow to abandon the war against Ukraine. In addition, according to him, an agreement must be concluded with Russia, UNN reports with reference to Euractiv.
"Since we cannot threaten Vladimir Putin by supplying weapons to Ukraine, and we cannot strangle it economically without US support, there is only one way left: to make a deal," he told the Belgian newspaper L'Echo.
Bringing Russia to its knees is only possible with "100% US support," he said.
However, De Wever believes that the US is not fully on Ukraine's side, and sometimes seems "closer to Putin" than the Kyiv leader.
"Without a mandate to negotiate in Moscow, we are not at the negotiating table where the Americans will push Ukraine to accept a deal. And I can already say that it will be a bad deal for us," he said.
Let's add
Euractiv notes that several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, recently tried to resume contacts with Putin, seeking not to leave US President Donald Trump with the task of reaching an agreement on Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022.
Macron does not plan to meet with Putin "in the coming days"12.02.26, 23:42
However, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc must first reach an agreement on what to expect from Russia before approaching Putin directly.
Last month, Kallas said that Europe must formulate "maximalist demands" and push the Kremlin to make concessions, including agreeing to reduce its armed forces.