António Costa, the President of the European Council, recently called Moscow to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This step is seen in Brussels as an uncoordinated solo effort and has caused discontent among EU states.
The heads of state and government of the 27 member states had previously agreed to extend EU economic sanctions against Russia not by six, but by twelve months. This decision became necessary after former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had blocked a one-year extension in recent years.
In German government circles, Costa’s move was criticized as “uncoordinated” and “unprofessional.” The heads of state and government were only informed about the call afterwards. Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine should continue to be driven by the countries that support Ukraine most strongly, particularly Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, French Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently launched a new initiative to revive stalled diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The goal of this initiative is to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
At the G7 summit in Évian, which Costa also attended, it was decided to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions and maintain support for Ukraine. Merz spoke at the time of “great transatlantic and European unity.”
In Brussels, however, these efforts already appear to be stalling again. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the consultations but was reserved about Costa’s Russia initiative, stating: “I don’t know too many details about it.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also expressed criticism, stating that the European Union is not a suitable negotiating partner. He emphasized that Europe is interested in Russia’s defeat in the war and therefore cannot be considered an impartial observer.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever took the debate over Costa’s initiative with humor. As he left the summit speaking to journalists, he called out to Costa: “I was just talking about you, António! Only good things!” Costa replied with a laugh: “Because you don’t like me in Brussels?”
Source: www.spiegel.de
