Latvia proposes appointing an EU representative for peace negotiations with Russia
Kyiv • UNN
Latvian Prime Minister proposes that the EU appoint a representative for negotiations with the Russian Federation. Europe wants to have its own mandate to participate in the process of ending the war.
The European Union needs to appoint a special representative for peace negotiations with Russia when the appropriate moment arises. This opinion was expressed by Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, emphasizing that the EU seeks to play a role in ending the war in Ukraine. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
Europe must be at the negotiating table. If peace talks take place, there must be one person who has a political mandate to participate in them,
His statement comes amid EU attempts to seize the initiative in negotiations while the United States is increasingly distracted by other priorities. As Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, European Council President António Costa has already been in contact with the Kremlin, attempting to engage Russian President Vladimir Putin in discussions on ways to end the war in Ukraine.
If we want peace negotiations, diplomatic channels must exist,
Several other EU countries have also put forward the idea of appointing a special representative for negotiations with Moscow. However, this proposal is controversial and fraught with risks. In particular, Putin previously suggested the candidacy of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has effectively collaborated with the Kremlin for decades through his work at Gazprom.
Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — Europe's three largest economies — have separately discussed a strategy for engaging Putin in peace negotiations in coordination with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
European officials believe there is currently an opportunity to bring Putin to the negotiating table, as Russian troops are struggling to advance on the front, Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian territory, and the economic costs of the war are rising.
Despite the fact that Russia has not achieved its goals in the fifth year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has yet to demonstrate any readiness to end the hostilities, Kulbergs noted.
We must bring this to an end at some point, but the other side must also be ready for it. Unfortunately, there are very few signs, real signs, that Putin and Russia want this,
Addendum
Latvia, a frontline state of the European Union and NATO's eastern flank, is among the most consistent critics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supporters of maintaining Kyiv's ability to defend itself.
Kulbergs took office following the collapse of the previous coalition amid incidents involving drone crashes in the eastern part of Latvia. The Baltic country faced difficulties in intercepting a series of drones that accidentally crossed the border from Russia and Belarus.