Hello from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn, penning the newsletter again this morning. My colleague Angela Skujins will be with you tomorrow.
Later today, EU foreign ministers will gather in Cyprus for a dinner ahead of Thursday’s informal meeting – a six-monthly, intimate format which allows ministers to have frank dialogue.
High on their agenda is the question of whether the bloc should break the diplomatic isolation imposed on Russia in early 2022 and engage in direct peace talks. The idea, which has received public backing from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, continues to divide member states, with some worrying the cons would outweigh the pros, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro writes in to report.
In an interview with Euronews on Tuesday, France’s Minister for EU Affairs, Benjamin Haddad, said Europe needs to “be ready” to have its “own diplomatic track” with Russia, but that “the priority now clearly is to continue to support Ukraine and to increase the pressure on Russia”.
Haddad’s cautious comments represent a walk-back of France’s earlier position. The French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first promoters of opening diplomatic channels with Russia, and sent his diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne for talks with the Kremlin in February, only to be rebuffed in comments by the Russian Foreign Minister.
