AFP, LIMASSOL, Cyprus
European nations risk walking into a Russian “trap” by getting bogged down over who should represent the EU in any Ukraine peace talks with Moscow, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said yesterday.“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 Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing on the back foot.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, center, front, waits for photographers alongside other European envoys in Limassol, Cyprus, yesterday.
Speculation over potential envoys has picked up, with Putin himself suggesting that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could fit the bill — an idea rejected in Europe.Ukraine’s European backers are first looking to decide what they want to discuss with Putin — the question topping the agenda at the talks yesterday — along with who could potentially represent them.
