European Council President Antonio Costa has made contact with the Kremlin in an effort to engage Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in discussions about how to end the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter, according to UNN.
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"Costa’s top adviser has held two calls with a senior Russian official close to Putin with a view to preparing the ground for more substantive talks in future," one of the sources said.
Costa's spokesperson declined to comment, and Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reportedly did not respond to an email requesting his response.
"We need, at the right moment, to have talks with Russia to address our common issues on security," Costa told reporters last month.
Some EU countries have floated the idea of appointing a special envoy for negotiations with Moscow, as the bloc seeks to play a role in securing peace between Ukraine and Russia. However, this idea is controversial and fraught with risks—Putin suggested former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has effectively been on the Kremlin's payroll for decades due to his work at PJSC Gazprom, the publication writes.
Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, Europe's three largest economies, have separately discussed a strategy for engaging Putin in peace talks in coordination with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European officials see an opportunity to draw Putin into negotiations as Kremlin forces struggle to advance on the battlefield, Ukraine has intensified strikes inside Russia, and the economic costs of the war are rising, the publication notes.
High-ranking European officials are seeking to coordinate their approach as the war enters a new phase, and they are preparing for a moment when communication with the Kremlin will intensify, one official said.
A peace deal between the US and Iran that would lower oil prices would also reduce Russia's export revenues from energy sales, the publication writes.
Meloni stated that the EU must find an envoy for negotiations with Russia11.06.26, 11:47