By Lili Bayer, John Irish, Tom Balmforth and James Mackenzie
BRUSSELS, May 27 (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers will discuss on Thursday how to approach any possible future talks with Russia, as Ukraine pushes for Europe to play a role in negotiations with Moscow and with the U.S. focused on the war with Iran.
The EU has pursued a policy of isolating Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It has imposed sanctions and had few high-level political and diplomatic contacts with Russia.
But with U.S.-led talks to end the conflict making little progress and the war now in its fifth year, some European officials have said the EU should be ready for when the time comes to hold talks with Moscow.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to negotiations with Europe, the RIA news agency reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has in recent weeks publicly called for diplomacy to be reinvigorated and for Europe to become part of the process.
“It is worth determining who will represent Europe specifically,” the Ukrainian leader said this month.
UKRAINE AFRAID U.S. IS LEAVING THE TALKS
European ministers gathering for the informal meeting in Cyprus are expected to discuss their preconditions for any possible talks and what Europe would aim to achieve if the bloc decided to enter negotiations.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Reuters: “Why is Zelenskiy asking Europe to step in? So the thing behind that I think is that they are afraid that the U.S. is leaving the negotiations and (want) then to keep Europe involved.”
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators last met for a U.S.-mediated meeting in Geneva in February, before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. They failed to reach any breakthrough on key sticking points, including territory.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that there were no scheduled negotiations but the U.S. was prepared to play a constructive role if an opportunity presented itself.
KALLAS TO OUTLINE VISION FOR DEMANDS
European governments have rejected a suggestion by Putin that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has described the Russian leader as a personal friend, could represent them in possible future talks with Moscow on the continent’s security.
And despite a flurry of speculation about whether the EU would designate an envoy for any talks, diplomats told Reuters that the discussion is premature and discussions should revolve around Europe’s strategy toward Russia.
“The focus of the discussion should be on substance,” one of the diplomats said, adding that “there is no sign that Russia wants to seriously talk now”.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas aims to focus Thursday’s discussion on what Europe’s “asks” are from Russia, a European official said on Wednesday.
Kallas is expected to outline her vision for European demands, which includes a ceasefire, a ban on Russian presence in countries such as Moldova and Georgia, and Russia stopping cyber, drone and disinformation activities targeting Europe, amongst other things, the official said.
NO EUROPEAN CONSENSUS, DIPLOMAT SAYS
But there is currently no European consensus on demands or preconditions, with some officials arguing now is a time to put more pressure on Moscow.
“Support for Ukraine remains strong, but there is no unity on how to approach future relations with Russia, that is more difficult,” said a senior European diplomat. “Some believe there should be no engagement at all, no bargaining – it’s complicated,” they added.
Ukrainian officials say they want Europe to play a bigger role but acknowledge the challenges.
“We always wanted the Europeans to be involved but there’s no sign from the Russian side of any willingness for talks,” said a Ukrainian diplomatic source.
French President Emmanuel Macron dispatched his diplomatic adviser to Moscow in February to assess potential for talks, but the official returned with little sign of any change in stance from Russia, according to diplomatic sources.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said on Sunday that talks with Russia should be opened when Ukraine is in a strong position, adding that Kyiv is now stronger than at any point in the war.
Stubb told Finnish public broadcaster Yle that the EU should lead planning for any contacts but that he would be ready to play a role if asked.
“It’s fine to test if Russia is open to talks, but it should be a parallel track to continued support for Ukraine and putting more pressure on Russia,” said Jana Kobzova, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels, John Irish in Paris, Tom Balmforth in London, James Mackenzie and Andreas Rinke in Berlin and Essi Lehto in Helsinki; Editing by Alison Williams)
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