The Heads of State and Government of the European Union have shown conflicting positions on whether it is advisable to reopen lines of communication with Russia for hypothetical peace talks, after the President of the European Council, António Costa, argued during the Thursday night debate that the EU must be "prepared" for the moment when contact with Moscow can be established.
The Portuguese socialist leader stressed during the meeting the importance of maintaining a channel with the Kremlin to guarantee a "just and lasting peace" and that, moreover, it be coherent "with Europe's interests." "That is what President Zelensky is asking us to do, for Europe to take a more active role in its diplomatic efforts," Costa conveyed to the leaders, according to European sources.
He also clarified that the recent "brief contacts" initiated by his team at the diplomatic level with Russia did not constitute formal negotiations or a significant exchange, and that the aim was, in any case, for the community bloc to be "prepared" for when the time comes to defend its interests.
At the start of the second day of the summit, the Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin, supported Costa's initiative and expressed his confidence in the President of the European Council. He qualified, however, that Europe "is not mediating nor will it act as a mediator" and that Costa would only speak on behalf of the Union if negotiations were opened and strictly European competencies came into play.
Martin admitted that "there is no indication that Russia is willing to sit down at the table" and that the times are "completely uncertain," but he appealed to Irish experience in peace processes to argue that opening communication channels is not something "negative." "Any negotiation would have to take place, first and foremost, between Ukraine and Russia," he stressed.
The Chancellor of Austria, Christian Stocker, took a similar stance, supporting Costa's position and denying that any criticism had been leveled against him during the debate. In his opinion, the common point was that, given that Putin "is not willing to negotiate," it is advisable to "be prepared and have communication channels for when that moment arrives," so that the European Union can "defend its interests in that process."
"There were no criticisms of António Costa. It is simply a matter of having channels and preparing ourselves for a situation where negotiations can begin, so that the European Union can defend its interests in that process," he explained in statements to the media.
A similar approach was proposed by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten, who described the previous night's exchange as "very productive" and advocated for continuing, for the moment, to increase pressure on the Kremlin to push it to negotiate, but at the same time creating the conditions so that, "when there is a real willingness to negotiate" on the part of Moscow, "the European Union is prepared."
When asked what figure should represent the community bloc in any potential peace talks, he avoided commenting, arguing that the leaders "are not going to fight over who the men or women who will negotiate" on their behalf will be.
"There is no point in maintaining diplomatic channels"
On the opposite side was one of the leaders with a border close to Russia, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Andris Kulbergs, who was much tougher on the "brief contacts" promoted by Costa's circle and flatly rejected opening diplomatic channels with Moscow as long as there are no unequivocal signs of willingness to negotiate.
"Diplomatic channels with Russia are useless if Russia does not want to do diplomacy. First, there must be clear signs that Moscow is willing to do so. Today, right now, there are no signs in that direction. So there is no point in maintaining diplomatic channels," he stated.
The pro-Russian Andrij Babis, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, avoided commenting directly on the substance, but lamented that the debate on Ukraine the previous night, which lasted longer than expected, "unfortunately confirmed that Europe is not capable of agreeing even on whether to negotiate or who will negotiate."
Late at night, at the close of the first day of the European Council, past 2:00 AM, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart de Wever, also spoke, revealing that few of his counterparts believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to begin "serious negotiations" on a "sustainable and acceptable peace for Ukraine and Europe."
While attending to journalists, the Belgian 'premier' and António Costa starred in a relaxed scene when the latter appeared from behind. "I was just talking about you, António," expressed De Weber, who added: "You are the only one who represents us, we will send you to Moscow." "That's because you don't want me in Brussels," replied the Portuguese socialist, laughing.