EU Divided over Russia Contacts as Leaders Reject Talks

The European Union remains divided over the question of direct communication with Russia on the war in Ukraine. Although the office of European Council President Antonio Costa has established limited diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin, several European leaders say Moscow has not yet shown any genuine interest in peace talks.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten agreed that without clear signals from Russia, accelerating contacts would be pointless.

In their view, negotiations should only follow clear signs of willingness to agree to a ceasefire or engage in serious peace talks. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, by contrast, supported maintaining communication channels, though he too expressed doubts about Vladimir Putin's readiness to negotiate.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed appointing a single EU envoy for contacts with Moscow. At the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky focused primarily on Ukraine's progress in the EU accession process.

(Reuters, mja)