„The European Union (EU) maintains an open diplomatic channel with Russia, and Moscow can use it if it deems it necessary.“
elchi reports that this was stated by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
„The channel is open, and Russia knows that it can engage in sincere discussions on how to achieve a ceasefire, how to protect civilians, and how to protect energy facilities, whenever it wishes and is able to do so,“ the politician said.
This refers to the informal diplomatic channel established between the EU and Russia by Costa’s Chief of Staff, Pedro Lourtie, previously.
Answering a question about the EU’s plans to appoint a special envoy for Ukraine, Costa emphasized:
„Any involvement of Europe in contacts related to conflict resolution depends on the nature of the negotiations. There are negotiations where we can use a special representative, or we can use both diplomatic and political channels,“ he noted.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, had stated that the US was doing a lot to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, while Europe was only exacerbating the crisis. He added that Russia sees a positive trend in some European countries trying to understand Moscow’s concerns, but the process has not gone beyond that.
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