European Union leaders are preparing for potential talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reported, citing a senior official.
European Council President António Costa said he saw “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Putin and said the bloc had the backing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to do so, according to the report.
"I'm talking with the [EU's] 27 national leaders to see the best way to organise ourselves and to identify what we need effectively to discuss with Russia when it comes the right moment to do this," Costa said.
According to Costa, at the EU leaders' summit in Cyprus last month, Zelenskyy invited Europeans to "be prepared to contribute positively for negotiation". At the same time, Costa noted that Moscow is not yet showing any signs of being ready for meaningful negotiations.
Zelenskyy's office confirmed the discussions with Costa.
"We need more co-ordination on the European level," a senior Ukrainian official said, adding that this could happen with the involvement of a single leader who could speak with Russia on behalf of Europeans in order to increase pressure on Moscow.
Some EU leaders, including Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, have raised the question of opening a channel for negotiations with the Kremlin.
However, there is no consensus among the 27 member states on who should be appointed to represent the EU in such negotiations, when they should begin, or what the proposal to Putin should be.
