The European Union (EU) must remain engaged in the ongoing peace negotiations attempted at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, said the European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, on Monday.
This included resuming dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a possible and acceptable solution to the war in Ukraine, she said.
“Obviously, at some point, there will have to be talks also with President Putin,” Pinho stated late Monday, claiming that the EU was “working very, very hard for peace.”
The bloc was rather sidelined following US President Donald Trump’s takeover of the peace negotiations in 2025 after the EU’s efforts to isolate Russia in a bid to deter it from waging the war failed.
The US President claimed last month that the peace talks were in the “final stages” after several rounds of direct talks between officials of Kyiv and Moscow in Turkiye last year ended in a stalemate following Ukraine’s withdrawal.
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Moscow has stated its intention to engage in meaningful and peace-oriented negotiations with Ukraine, including its “EU backers”, with Presidential aide Yury Ushakov saying in December that “Western leaders were welcome in Moscow for talks” but maintained that “the Europeans are refusing all contacts”.
Meanwhile, Pinho criticised Moscow for the slow progress in talks, saying Brussels was “not seeing any positive signs” of Russia engaging in the negotiations, despite Russia’s high-level diplomatic team comprising Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and President Putin, having met US officials on multiple occasions, including at a summit in Alaska.
Several European leaders have changed their rhetoric on Russia over the past months. In December, French President Emmanuel Macron said it would be “useful” to re-engage in talks with Putin, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also supported the idea last week, saying it is time for the EU to talk to Russia.
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