EU Head of Council Reaches Out to Kremlin in Peace Push

European Council President Antonio Costa has established contact with Kremlin officials in an attempt to open diplomatic channels toward ending the war in Ukraine, with Brussels confirming the contact on Wednesday.

Costa’s chief adviser held two phone calls with a senior Russian official close to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, aimed at laying the groundwork for further diplomatic contacts, according to Bloomberg. The EU Council declined to elaborate further, while the Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment. 

“In the past few weeks, brief contacts at diplomatic level were made to open communication channels but nothing was discussed on substance,” an EU official said on condition of anonymity. “In any future scenario, the EU has specific interests that will need to be defended, therefore it is important to have established diplomatic channels with Russia,” the EU official added, noting that “the EU is not a mediator,” though it supports Ukraine in its peace efforts.

Bloomberg reported that some EU countries “have floated the idea of appointing a special envoy to negotiate with Moscow,” but added that “the idea is controversial and fraught with risks.”

The report also noted that Putin has suggested former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as a potential interlocutor – a figure Bloomberg described as having “effectively been on the Kremlin’s payroll for decades through his work for Gazprom.”

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Zelensky met Trump at G7 summit, pushed for support

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Putin has so far rejected any direct negotiations under current conditions, leaving diplomacy largely frozen.