Conflicting proposals: Europe is trying to get involved in negotiations on Ukraine
The European Union structures are discussing a format for inclusion in negotiations on Ukraine, the European Parliament told Izvestia. The French Embassy in Moscow noted that it is impossible to reach a settlement without the Europeans. However, the participation of EU representatives in this process may complicate it, as the EU is doing everything to continue the conflict, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Experts believe that there is still a consensus in Europe about the need for military action, so a real dialogue with Russia has not been launched.
Europe's participation in the negotiations on Ukraine
After the completion of the mission of US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner in Moscow and Kiev, the leaders of Russia and the United States held an hour-long telephone conversation. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to continue contacts and positively assessed the results of the trip of the American representatives. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow expects to resume work in the Russia—USA—Ukraine format in the foreseeable future. The last meeting of the three countries' delegations was held in Geneva in February.
During the talks between the United States and Ukraine in Kiev on September 6, the national security advisers of the leadership of Great Britain, France and Germany were present. On September 9, German Foreign Minister Johann Vadefuhl announced his readiness to engage in dialogue with Russia on resolving the crisis. Moreover, the situation in the Black Sea and the energy truce attracted the special attention of the head of German diplomacy.
Brussels is discussing ways to participate in further negotiations on Ukraine, Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia.
— [Participation in the negotiations] will be discussed in the EU Council at the ministerial level, as well as in the European Commission. After a long refusal to enter into any negotiations with Russia, European leaders now realize that the resumption of a certain dialogue with Moscow is inevitable. They would certainly like to participate in such multilateral meetings," the MEP said.
Izvestia sent a request to the European Commission.
According to Kartheiser, the EU tends to stay close to the negotiations for three reasons. Brussels does not trust the Trump administration and fears a deal between Russia and the United States. Secondly, European leaders risk losing international influence if they do not participate in the settlement. Finally, public opinion in the EU is increasingly opposed to the militant sentiments of its political elites.
However, the participation of representatives of European countries in contacts on the Ukrainian settlement may complicate the negotiation process, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained in a recent interview that Europe had many chances to play a constructive role in the Ukrainian settlement, but failed them all. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it does not completely abandon the restoration of dialogue with Europe, but only taking into account the realities on earth and the cessation of anti-Russian policies.
Recall that Boris Johnson, who held the post of British Prime Minister in 2022, persuaded the Ukrainian leadership to abandon the agreements reached in Istanbul. Even earlier, in 2015, the leaders of Germany and France signed the Minsk agreements, but did not try to force Kiev to comply with the agreements. Then ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel and former President Francois Hollande admitted that in this way they were only stalling for time to pump Ukraine with weapons.
Who can represent Europe in the negotiations on Ukraine
The UK, which is not a member of the EU, as well as Germany and France, which are called the Eurotroika, intend to take over the function of representing European interests. The French Embassy in Russia told Izvestia that a settlement of the conflict "is impossible without the participation of Europeans." A representative of the British Embassy in Moscow said that London "is in close contact with the United States, Ukraine and other partners," and called on Russia to engage in a "meaningful dialogue." In June, the ambassadors of the European countries met with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin in Moscow. Smolenskaya Square then announced that there had been no new proposals to end the Ukrainian crisis.
The second option involves the appointment of an EU special envoy for relations with Russia. This idea was put forward by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the end of last year. Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder were among the candidates. The office of the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, tried to establish a communication channel with Moscow on its own, which caused dissatisfaction in Berlin and Paris. Izvestia wrote that Brussels has not come to a consensus on the way of dialogue with the Russian Federation.
Egor Sergeev, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, believes that the general consensus in the EU is set to continue the conflict, so there are no real negotiating prospects. The European bureaucracy will not be able to participate in hypothetical negotiations due to difficulties with the mandate to act on behalf of all EU countries that have different interests. Therefore, if the EU does join the dialogue in the future, the decision on the format of participation will be spontaneous.
Prospects for a peaceful resolution of the crisis
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he considers it possible in the next few weeks to develop a plan for further actions to resolve the situation in Ukraine. The Kremlin noted that such programs, a kind of roadmap, are not yet available.
The prospects for further contacts will be determined by a trilateral meeting between Russia, the United States and Ukraine. The format and venue are still under discussion. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that among the options being considered are countries where such negotiations have already taken place: the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Switzerland. Bern maintains contacts with all parties and consistently offers its services, the official representative of the confederation's Foreign Ministry, Pierre-Alain Elchinger, told Izvestia. Russia considers Abu Dhabi to be a priority venue for the meeting, Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said. Negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine took place in the UAE capital at the beginning of the year.
The discussion of Ukrainian issues at the leadership level may continue at the APEC summit in November, which is attended by the leaders of the Russian Federation, China and the United States. Dmitry Peskov announced the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Shenzhen.
Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, told Izvestia that the Europeans and Ukraine would try to change the content of the negotiations and urge the United States to refuse to listen to Russia's position. The goal of Brussels and Kiev is to convince Washington to increase pressure on Moscow, including through new duties on buyers of Russian resources. However, Washington understands that for a settlement it is necessary to take into account the interests of the Russian Federation, the expert believes.
Preparations for a new round of negotiations on Ukraine are already underway, but it may be more difficult to get the process off the ground than last year. During this time, Europe has seriously increased its support for Kiev and now intends to intervene in the settlement. However, the EU leaders have not offered constructive ideas, which effectively deprives them of their status as impartial and effective intermediaries.
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