European Union leaders have reacted in different ways to the attempt by European Council President Antonio Costa to open diplomatic channels with Russia with a view to possible peace talks, DPA reported.
Sources from the German government yesterday described the initiative as an "insult" after a discussion between EU leaders in Brussels. According to them, the move was "uncoordinated" and "unprofessional".
Others warned that the moment was not right for dialogue with Russia, while some welcomed the initiative.
„So far, we have not seen any real readiness from "Putin to enter into serious negotiations. That's where it all starts," Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jeten said.
"We are, of course, ready and open to supporting any attempt that can be made to achieve peace and end the war in Ukraine," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker expressed a similar position. "I have always said that I am in favor of dialogue, of opening channels of communication, because every peace begins with dialogue," he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is attending the EU summit as a guest, said he did not know many details about the diplomatic contact.
An EU official confirmed media reports that there had been brief contacts at the diplomatic level in recent weeks aimed at establishing channels of communication with Moscow, but no real talks had taken place.
Diplomatic relations between Brussels and Moscow have been severely strained since Russia first occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014, and have been frozen since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
A joint statement said EU leaders supported diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine and stressed the EU's readiness to step up its engagement in this regard.
“Europe has a key role in a future settlement and stands ready to defend its interests“, the declaration said.
EU leaders called on “Russia to show genuine readiness for peace, to agree to a full, unconditional and immediate ceasefire and to engage in meaningful negotiations for a just and lasting peace“.
Zelensky joined leaders for a briefing on the situation on the battlefield after returned to Brussels for the first time since his most prominent EU opponent, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was ousted from power earlier this year.
Ukraine received a fresh wave of EU support after Budapest lifted its veto on several initiatives – from opening formal accession talks to approving a 90 billion euro ($104.5 billion) loan for Kiev.
All 27 EU leaders meeting in Brussels also unanimously adopted a joint statement in support of Ukraine for the first time in more than a year and agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia by 12 months instead of 6 months.
On economic issues, leaders discussed some of the most pressing challenges facing the EU, including the bloc’s weakening competitiveness and broader global issues, such as the EU’s difficult trade relations with China.
But the European Council participants yesterday lowered expectations for Ukraine's swift accession to the bloc and confirmed that any enlargement must be based on merit, as the 27 had unanimously agreed for the first time in more than a year, EFE noted.
In a text of conclusions approved on the first day of the summit in Brussels, leaders welcomed the opening last Monday of the first block of formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and said they "look forward to the opening of the remaining thematic blocks in line with the merit-based approach".
However, a previous draft of the conclusions had stressed the opening of the remaining negotiating blocks "as soon as possible".
In this way, member states have cooled the possibility of continuing to open the remaining "clusters" in order to make progress on Ukraine's accession in the summer, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky upon arrival at the EU summit, EFE added.
Emmanuel Macron has highlighted Ukraine's "astonishing" capacity to produce drones as the country resists Russia with "a courage that amazes". He made the remarks in an interview with France 2 television yesterday, hours after a large-scale Ukrainian attack on Moscow.
"Today we have a drone war and in this war, Ukraine's production capacity is astonishing", the French president said.
"Ukraine is resisting with courage, a capacity for innovation and military production that have amazed everyone since day one", he added.
Kiev launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in at least two years yesterday morning, setting fires in the area around the Russian capital and disrupting the operation of its main airports.
Meanwhile, while the advance of Russian forces on the Ukrainian front has slowed significantly this year, talks to try to end the conflict remain deadlocked, Agence France-Presse noted.
However, Emmanuel Macron said that on At the G7 summit in Evian, France, there was “real change“, “real progress“, particularly from the United States.
Donald Trump, who is usually reserved about supporting Kiev, actually said at that summit that Russia “has to make a deal”. He also said Washington could reimpose sanctions on Russian oil as crude prices fall following the announcement of a deal between Iran and the United States.
“I am convinced that President Trump will make more of an effort so that we can collectively help Ukraine in this military effort [...] to defend itself and its territory“, as well as “put more pressure on Russia, on its economy, and bring it back to the negotiating table“, stressed Emmanuel Macron.
Today, EU leaders are due to turn their attention to the bloc's next long-term budget for the period 2028 to 2034, currently expected to be in the range of 1 trillion to 2 trillion euros.