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Russia volition not get to take who represents Europe successful immoderate potential talks with Moscow implicit Ukraine and the bloc volition contiguous a agreed front, European Union foreign ministers gathering successful Cyprus said connected Thursday (May 28, 2026).
The overseas ministers are gathering informally to discuss their strategy arsenic Kyiv pushes for much European engagement to assistance extremity the more-than-four-year war, with the United States focused connected its struggle with Iran.
Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin suggested that erstwhile German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has described the Russian person arsenic a idiosyncratic friend, could correspond Europe successful imaginable talks.
European governments rejected that proposal, with European overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas restating that presumption connected Thursday. “I find that it’s a trap that Russia wants america to locomotion into, that we sermon who talks to them, and they’re already picking who is suitable or who is not,” Ms. Kallas said.
“Let’s not locomotion into that trap. Negotiation is ever a team effort,” she said. “That’s wherefore the substance is overmuch much important than who.”
“It is truly the spot to sermon with the overseas ministers the halfway interests, the halfway requests that we besides person for Russia, due to the fact that erstwhile we spell to the table, past it should beryllium besides precise clear what we are doing there,” Ms. Kallas said.
Putin unfastened to talks: Kremlin
The Kremlin said connected Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was unfastened to negotiations with Europe, the RIA news bureau reported. “Europe volition determine the sanction of the negotiator, not Mr Putin,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said erstwhile arriving for the ministerial gathering.
“It is not a Putin decision, it is our decision,” helium added.
Defining a communal attack to Russia
Despite a flurry of speculation astir whether the EU would designate an envoy for immoderate talks, immoderate ministers person said the treatment is premature.
“This is not the clip erstwhile we are discussing who is going to person the negotiations,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told reporters successful Cyprus.
“But we person to sermon what we are doing to enactment further unit connected Russia and besides springiness much systems to Ukraine, for Ukraine to prolong these attacks and pb it to victory,” helium added.
Diplomats told Reuters ahead of Thursday’s gathering that nary decisions were expected successful Cyprus, and that determination was nary statement connected European preconditions oregon demands for Moscow. Some officials besides said they felt it was excessively aboriginal to sermon the question of an envoy.
Many ministers stressed the request for Europe to find a communal presumption connected however to attack imaginable aboriginal talks.
“What’s important much than talking astir the peculiar envoy (...) is that it has to beryllium 1 voice,” Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters.
Carrying the European message
Some ministers signaled openness to Europe designating an envoy successful the future.
“Europe needs to beryllium astatine the array successful immoderate case, it can’t beryllium with 27 subordinate states, and Europe is larger than the EU alone, but I americium assured that unneurotic we tin not lone hold astir a mandate, but possibly besides connected immoderate radical that could instrumentality connected this role,” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told reporters.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said, “I deliberation that we person to sermon astir the contents of the imaginable dialog process, what benignant of task the EU tin suggest astatine the array of negotiation. And we besides person to specify idiosyncratic to embody besides the European message.”
Asked if she would similar the relation of European negotiator, Ms. Kallas said her occupation is to correspond the bloc.
“I’m the High Representative of the European Union, and you tin work my occupation statement successful the treaties — and of course, that is also representing Europe. But for that, we request to beryllium united.”
