European Council president says communication channel with Kremlin remains open, but Russia not ready for dialogue

European Council President António Costa has said that a channel of communication with the Kremlin remains open, but Russia has so far shown no signs that it is ready for serious dialogue.

Source: Costa in an interview with Rapporteur, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Amid renewed speculation that Europe could appoint a special representative to take part in peace talks, Costa said European representation will depend on the nature of the negotiations.

"There are some kind of talks we can use a special envoy, we can use also the diplomatic channels, we can use also the political channels," the European Council president said.

He stressed that the EU was not seeking to obstruct or compete with US President Donald Trump's peace efforts. Meanwhile, Costa's chief of staff, Pedro Lourtie, established a discreet diplomatic channel with the Kremlin earlier this year.

Asked whether the channel had been used since then, Costa said the channel is open.

"The channel is open, and Russia knows that if and when they want effectively to talk about how to obtain a ceasefire, how to protect the civilian people, how to protect energy facilities, they can talk. But look, have you seen any signs from Russia that they want to engage seriously on this?" Costa said.

Background:

• British newspaper The Telegraph reported on 22 October that Europe was considering potential negotiators to engage with Russia in talks on ending the war in Ukraine, with five candidates currently under consideration.
• Politico reported that the question of finding a European representative had taken on particular urgency this week after US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Russia.

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