Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Thursday that Europe cannot combine its strong backing for Ukraine with a neutral mediator role in future peace talks, as EU foreign ministers met informally in Lemesos, Cyprus. Eide said Europe cannot cast itself as an intermediary in talks to end the war, while at the same time providing military and political backing to Ukraine. He suggested that any mediation role should be taken on by actors able to maintain more distance from the conflict, as per The Telegraph report.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Europe cannot serve as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia in negotiations to end the war, because it is on Ukraine’s side”, Eide said, adding that Europe should have a voice in these discussions, rather than be a direct mediator. Eide has also refused to offer “own’s own candidate”, stating that Western governments could not act as an intermediary. Kallas: EU will not be a neutral mediator The EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas delivered a similar message in recent comments on possible talks with Moscow, warning that direct talks with Russia risk weakening Europe’s leverage. Kallas has also argued that before any outreach to Russia, EU countries must first agree among themselves about which questions they want to raise with Moscow and what their red lines are – including issues such as reparations, the return of abducted Ukrainian children, and the withdrawal of Russian troops from other occupied territories.