EU needs special envoy for talks with Russia, Latvia and Estonia leaders say

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Estonian President Alar Karis have called for the appointment of a special EU envoy to hold talks with Russia.

Source: Siliņa and Karis in a comment to Euronews on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Siliņa and Karis said that any engagement with Russia should take place after consultations with Ukraine. They suggested the envoy, who has yet to be appointed, should be a consensus figure.

Quote from Siliņa: "I think you need to engage in diplomacy. You always need to talk, but we need to isolate and still have sanctions on Russia. We have to be at the negotiation table because Ukrainians themselves have started to negotiate. So why should Europeans not negotiate?"

More details: When asked about potential European representatives, Siliņa named the French president, the German chancellor, the Polish prime minister and the UK prime minister.

Quote from Siliņa: "Yes, we really need an envoy. Probably the question is who it will be. And I think we have many options. I'm ready to go if it's needed, but I think European leaders from Germany or France, as well as the UK, which is a member of the Coalition of the Willing, should be the ones who are actually at the table together with Americans, helping Ukraine to be in those very tough negotiations."

More details: Karis did not name any candidates but said the chosen envoy should represent a major European country and enjoy "credibility on both sides".

Quote from Karis: "The European Union should be involved in these discussions as well. Although we are not fighting with Russia directly, we have been supporting Ukraine for so many years already and continue to do so.

We should have a say as well, but you see, we are a bit late. We should have started it, maybe not President Trump, but maybe the European Union, to start also finding diplomatic solutions to this. A couple of years ago, we were in a position that we didn't talk with aggressors, and now we're worried that we are not [at] the table."

Background:

• Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said it would be a mistake to pursue dialogue and restore relations with Russia unless it abandons its imperialist policy.
• On 3 February, French President Emmanuel Macron said that preparations for his conversation with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin are ongoing at a technical level.
• Macron said in December 2025 that Europe must find a way to engage directly with Russia's leader.

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