Europe’s Russia dilemma: Why EU is opening a channel with Moscow despite Ukraine war

European Council President Antonio Costa on Friday defended his office’s recent diplomatic outreach to the Kremlin, saying the European Union needs direct communication channels with Russia even though the time for peace negotiations over Ukraine has not yet arrived.Speaking after a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, Costa said maintaining contact with Moscow was necessary to support Ukraine through diplomatic means. “It is precisely because we need also to support Ukraine through diplomatic means that we need to have a direct diplomatic channel with Russia,” he said, as reported by news agency AFP.Costa stressed that there were currently no “credible signs” that Russia was ready to engage in genuine negotiations.“The time to negotiate has not arrived yet,” he said, while adding that the EU nevertheless needed to establish direct contact in order to hear Russia’s position and convey the bloc’s own messages directly.

Outreach exposes divisions within EU

The remarks came after an EU official revealed on Wednesday that Costa’s office had made “brief contacts at diplomatic level” with Moscow in an effort to open communication channels.The initiative has exposed divisions within the EU over how and when to engage Russia. As reported by Reuters, several leaders criticised the move during closed-door discussions at the Brussels summit, arguing that it had not been coordinated with member states and that the bloc should focus on maintaining pressure on Moscow.According to Reuters, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were not enthusiastic about the outreach, while Nordic and Baltic countries expressed the strongest concerns.

Macron, Merz urge caution on negotiations

Macron said Europe would eventually need a seat at the table in any negotiations to end the war but insisted Russia must first demonstrate a willingness to engage seriously. “It’s up to Russia, to whom many offers have been made in recent months, to say when it will be ready to negotiate,” Macron said.He added that negotiations would initially take place between Russia and Ukraine before involving the United States and Europe.Merz said it was still too early to decide who should represent Europe in future talks with the Kremlin.He noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already discussed key points for potential negotiations with the so-called E3 group comprising France, Germany and Britain.Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs was among those sceptical of the outreach. “Diplomatic channels with Russia don’t matter if Russia doesn’t want to do diplomacy,” he said, as reported by Reuters.

Some member states back direct communication

However, Costa’s efforts also received backing from some member states. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the initiative did not amount to peace negotiations but was simply a diplomatic channel.“I think that’s perfectly understandable and, from the Spanish government’s point of view, I would even say it’s necessary,” Sanchez said.Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin also supported the move, who said opening a communication channel was not a mistake.The debate comes as European leaders consider how the bloc can play a larger role in efforts to end the Ukraine war, amid concerns that US-led diplomatic initiatives have lost momentum. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for Europe to become more actively involved in any future peace process.Costa maintained that establishing a direct channel with Moscow was essential because the EU could not rely solely on others to interpret Russian messages.“We must be able to convey to Russia our own messages,” he said.