EU needs to talk to Russia – Austrian chancellor
The EU has to engage in direct negotiations with Russia to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker has said.
The EU and UK cut diplomatic communication with Moscow following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. However, several EU leaders have recently called for renewed engagement with Moscow after this approach left the bloc effectively sidelined from peace efforts initiated by US President Donald Trump.
“I think that we need channels to Russia because without talks we will not find a solution,” Stocker said on the Table.Today Podcast on Sunday.
According to the chancellor, the EU needs to muster the “readiness to actually negotiate a viable peace solution” to the Ukraine conflict. Asked whether this means engaging with Russian President Vladimir Putin personally, Stocker replied in the affirmative, saying Putin is the one who “decides.”
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s European backers were preparing for possible talks with Putin “at the technical level.” Macron first suggested re-engaging with Russia diplomatically late last year, arguing that “it will become useful again to speak with Vladimir Putin.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who previously expressed skepticism regarding talks with Russia, has recently acknowledged that the EU should “find a balance again with our largest European neighbor.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has insisted that instead of “haphazard” individual contact, the EU should appoint a special envoy to facilitate the process. Stocker similarly referred to his predecessor Karl Nehammer’s visit to Moscow in April 2022, saying the talks were “not a solo action, but rather part of a joint European strategy.”
Commenting on recent statements by EU leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Moscow has never rejected direct contact and “they can just call President Putin.” However, the discussion must have a clear purpose and not devolve into a PR stunt with one side lecturing the other, he stated.
