European Council chief secretly reached out to Kremlin on Ukraine, Bloomberg reports
Photo: European Council President António Costa (Getty Images)
President of the European Council António Costa is seeking to establish a secret communication channel with the Kremlin in an effort to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin into talks on ending the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
Details of the secret contacts
According to the report, Costa's chief adviser has already held two conversations with a senior Russian official from Putin's inner circle.
The purpose of these contacts is to lay the groundwork for possible serious negotiations in the future. Officially, the European Council President's office and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the information.
At the same time, the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom separately discussed a joint strategy for engaging Russia in dialogue. European officials plan to coordinate all efforts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The EU is feeling pressure to secure a seat at the negotiating table after US President Donald Trump began direct contacts with Putin last year.
Risks and conditions
Within the European Union, the idea of restoring contacts with Moscow remains controversial. Some countries have proposed appointing a special envoy, but there are serious concerns about Kremlin propaganda.
For example, Putin previously promoted former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for such a role. Schröder worked for Gazprom for years.
At present, the Russian leader is rejecting all calls for a ceasefire. As a precondition for peace talks, he demands that Kyiv fully cede territories in the Donetsk region that Russia has still failed to capture and rule out the presence of European troops in Ukraine.
Ukraine categorically rejects these conditions. In addition, Putin continues to accuse the EU of helping trigger the war by supporting Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and using the Minsk agreements to rearm the Ukrainian military.
Updated at 5:00 p.m.
RBC-Ukraine has learned from a government source that the contacts produced no results.
According to the source, the Kremlin does not view Europe as a serious party at the negotiating table.
Attempts to start peace talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently commented on whether Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich could act as a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow. According to Zelenskyy, during a visit to Kyiv, the businessman fully understood Ukraine's position and promised to give feedback to the Kremlin, although the final decision remains with Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, Germany's Foreign Ministry believes that peace talks on Ukraine could begin as early as this summer. Berlin argues that the war has effectively reached a stalemate and that the Russian President may now be seriously considering a diplomatic settlement.
Washington has also stepped up its diplomatic efforts. Following the conclusion of an agreement with Iran, the United States has fully focused on achieving peace in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump has already spoken with both Zelenskyy and Putin and said that both sides are open to dialogue.
