Estonia has proposed that European Council President António Costa and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, represent the EU in talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine. The position was put forward by Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, who presented it to Politico.
“Europe has already chosen its representatives: European Council President António Costa and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas. Both are directly accountable to the countries of the European Union,” Michal said.
According to him, there is no need to create a new mechanism or appoint a special representative for talks with Moscow. “There is no need to appoint someone new. If the Russians are not satisfied, that is their problem. Europe must be represented by people we trust and who are accountable to the EU, not by those whom Putin likes,” the Estonian prime minister said.
European Representation to Be Discussed in Dublin
The issue is expected to be discussed at an informal meeting of the European Council in Dublin. The meeting was called for by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In a letter to Costa, she stated that the European approach to the negotiation process had not been sufficiently coordinated and may have contributed to prolonging the war.
The expectation is that the meeting will not end with the official appointment of a representative. According to information cited by OBOZ.UA, an unnamed senior EU official said that the leaders first need to reach a common understanding of who will convey the European position to the Kremlin, while the final decision will be made later.
Under the European Union’s current rules, the union is represented on the international stage by the president of the European Council. Kaja Kallas also has powers on foreign policy issues. Her critics, however, believe that her position toward Russia is too tough for negotiations with Moscow.
No Common View on a Single Representative
Estonia’s proposal is not shared by all European countries. During the previous month, the leaders of Finland and Norway spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was skeptical of such an initiative and that Europe should preserve its unity instead of individual countries acting independently.
Jared Kushner, who is participating on the American side in talks with Russia and Ukraine, described the choice of a single European representative as a significant achievement. In his words, this would be even more important than persuading Russia to allow the EU to take part in the negotiations.
There is also resistance in France to a leading role for EU institutions. Fabrice Leggeri of the National Rally party said that Costa and Kallas could not speak on behalf of France and that diplomatic powers should remain at the level of individual states. Earlier, the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, António Costa and Kaja Kallas were also among the possible representatives under discussion.
The debate is taking place against the backdrop of intensified American efforts to end the war. During the week, representatives of Russia, the United States and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi, while the EU took part in a separate high-level meeting.
Sources: obozrevatel.com