LIMASSOL: EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned Thursday that Europeans risk walking into a Russian “trap” by getting bogged down over who should represent them in any Ukraine peace talks with Moscow.
“It’s a trap that Russia wants us to walk into, that we discuss who talks to them, and they are already picking who is suitable, who is not. Let’s not walk into that trap,” Kallas told reporters as foreign ministers met in Cyprus to weigh their terms for talking with Moscow.
The European debate on re-engaging with Moscow has been getting louder with President Donald Trump’s attention consumed by Iran and Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing on the back foot.
Speculation over potential envoys has picked up, with Putin himself suggesting former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his long-time ally, could fit the bill — an idea roundly rejected in Europe.
But Kyiv’s European backers are first looking to decide what they want to discuss with Putin — the question topping the agenda at Thursday’s talks — along with who could potentially represent them.
