Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are among the names that have circulated in recent weeks as possible special envoys of the EU in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. But so far, European partners have not been able to agree on whether to negotiate directly with Vladimir Putin, let alone who should do it. It was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who asked the community bloc to designate a single interlocutor to formally open negotiations with Moscow, at a time when US President Donald Trump has completely disengaged from the conflict, despite having promised to end Russia's war of aggression.
"Europe must participate. It is important that it has a strong voice and presence in this process, and it is worth determining who will specifically represent Europe," Zelensky claimed a few weeks ago. However, the European bloc asks to focus the debate on defining a negotiation strategy and specifying demands on the Russian president before discussing who they send to negotiate.
"I think it is a trap that Russia wants us to fall into: that we start discussing who talks to them, while they are already deciding who they consider suitable and who not," warned the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, during the meeting of foreign ministers held last week in Cyprus. She was not only skeptical about the issue, but directly ruled out the EU as a possible interlocutor. "One thing is very clear: Europe will never be a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine because we are on Ukraine's side and we are defending our own security interests," she stated.
Alongside Kallas are also the states that share a border with Russia, such as Lithuania and Estonia, who completely reject the discussion. "It is not the time to talk about who will lead the negotiations. We will not talk about names or the place [that the EU should occupy] at the table. We must discuss what we do to increase pressure on Russia and give more support to Ukraine," defended Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.
European partners have also ruled out the name proposed by Putin: former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. "It is not acceptable to us," said German Secretary of State for European Affairs Gunther Krichbaum. "Russia does not dictate the rules of the game here. If one day there is a mediator, it will have to be accepted by all parties, especially Ukraine," he added.
There is no consensus on whether the EU should send an interlocutor, nor on who it should be. But European partners are clear that it will never be a name proposed by Moscow. "Europe will decide the negotiator, not Mr. Putin," defended Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Cyprus.
