Latvia and Estonia call for appointment of EU special envoy for talks with Russia
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Estonian President Alar Karis called for the appointment of a special European envoy to restore contacts with Russia.
This was reported by Euronews, according to Censor.NET.
Proposal by Latvia and Estonia
Siliņa and Karis noted that any communication with Russia should be carried out after consultations with Ukraine, and suggested that the interlocutor, who has yet to be appointed, should be a consensus figure.
"I think we need to engage in diplomacy. We always need to talk, but we also need to isolate Russia and continue to apply sanctions against it. We must be at the negotiating table because Ukrainians themselves initiated the negotiations. So why shouldn't Europeans negotiate?" said the Prime Minister of Latvia.
Silin named the French president, German chancellor, Polish prime minister, and British prime minister as potential European representatives. At the same time, as the publication notes, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is strongly opposed to direct negotiations.
"Yes, we really need an envoy. The question is probably who it will be. And I think we have many options. I am ready to go if necessary, but I think that European leaders from Germany or France, as well as the UK, which is a member of the "Coalition of the Willing," should be the ones sitting at the table with the Americans, helping Ukraine in these very tough negotiations," Silina said.
In turn, Estonian President Keris did not name names, but stressed that the chosen envoy must be a representative of a large European country and enjoy "authority on both sides."
"The European Union must also be involved in these discussions. Although we are not at war with Russia directly, we have been supporting Ukraine for many years and continue to do so... We too must have a say, but as you can see, we are a little late. We should have started this, perhaps not President Trump, but the EU, in order to also begin the search for diplomatic solutions. A couple of years ago, we were in a position where we did not talk to the aggressors, and now we are worried that we are not there (at the table)," Karis said.
What preceded it
- We would like to remind you that French President Emmanuel Macron recently stated that the resumption of dialogue with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is being prepared at the "technical level," despite the fact that Russia is not showing any real willingness to make peace.
