Finnish President Alexander Stubb believes that the time has come for Europe to start independent negotiations with Russia.
He told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that European leaders are discussing who the contact person will be.
“Yes, it's time to start negotiations with Russia. I don't know when that will happen. We have discussed this issue with European leaders who will establish contact, but we don't know yet,“ he said. "If American policy towards Russia and Ukraine does not serve the interests of Europe, then we ourselves must engage in direct interaction," the Finnish president said.
According to him, the most important thing is the coordination of all actions between the Europeans, especially between the E5 countries (Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland), and the Scandinavian and Baltic states located on the border. "Whether it will be a special envoy or a group of leaders, we will see," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 9 that Moscow was ready for talks with Europe. He specified that he considered former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to be his preferred interlocutor in such a dialogue. He also acknowledged that Europeans could choose "a leader they trust and who has not said anything bad" for Russia.
Some European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, have previously spoken out in support of appointing an EU special envoy for Ukraine, and Stubb has been mentioned as a possible candidate.