The European Union will not seek to mediate between Ukraine and Russia nor attempt to replace the United States in the peace process, High Representative Kaja Kallas has said amid an ongoing debate on whether the bloc should appoint a special envoy.
The hot-button issue, which has sharply divided member states and fuelled intense speculation about potential candidates, was top of the agenda during an informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers on Thursday in Lemesos, Cyprus.
"One thing is very clear: Europe will never be a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine, because we are on Ukraine's side and we are defending our own security interests," Kallas said at the end of the gathering.
"We can't be neutral, treating them equally, because we have been clearly on Ukraine's side,
Ukraine, she argued, needs the EU to rebalance the negotiations and extract concessions from the Russian side.
