European Council opens limited contacts with Russia, Politico reports

Contacts between the European Council and Russia have begun, according to Politico, although the recent exchanges were brief and did not cover “substantive issues.”

A member of European Council President António Costa’s team who participated in the discussions told the newspaper that the contacts reflected the reality that the European Union has “concrete interests that need to be protected.”

“For that reason, it is important to establish diplomatic channels with Russia,” the official said.

The same official added that Costa is acting in close coordination with European leaders regarding possible contacts with Russia and the issues that could be addressed at an appropriate time.

The official also stressed that the European Union is not acting as a “mediator” between Ukraine and Russia.

Another EU diplomat interviewed by Politico said the European Council does not have “a mandate” to conduct such contacts.

Representatives of the European Council, spokespeople for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a French official did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment.

Two sources cited by Politico said the question of Europe’s role in peace talks on Ukraine could be discussed at the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday. However, the sources said no decision is expected on who would conduct such contacts.

A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that Costa’s team was seeking to establish an informal communication channel with the Kremlin for a possible dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.

Sources cited by the agency claimed that Costa’s chief adviser had held at least two phone calls with his Russian counterpart to lay the groundwork for broader discussions in the future.

Speaking in May, Costa said European Union member states had the “potential” to engage in negotiations with Putin. He added that he had discussed the details of any future contact with the Russian leader with the heads of government of the EU’s 27 member states.

At the same time, Costa said the European Union did not want to obstruct talks being conducted by the United States and that they had seen no indication that Moscow was ready for dialogue with Brussels.

During the same month, Putin said Russia remained open to talks with Europe. He suggested that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder could be one of the interlocutors acceptable from Russia’s perspective.

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said last week that the time was not yet right for negotiations between Russia and the European Union.

Kallas said the EU was preparing its 21st sanctions package in an effort to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

Shortly before that, Finnish President Alexander Stubb had also called for Europe to take the initiative in launching discussions with Russia on a settlement process for Ukraine.

The issue of Ukraine was also discussed at the G7 summit held in France from June 15 to 17. In addition to the G7 countries, leaders from Ukraine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, India, South Korea, Kenya and Brazil attended the gathering. Participants discussed developing a common approach to ending the war in Ukraine.