EU outreach to Russia faces summit backlash over Ukraine diplomacy

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EU outreach to Russia faces summit backlash

Highlights

EU Council President António Costa's office engaged in direct contacts with the Kremlin about possible Ukraine peace talks, sparking backlash from several leaders at the Brussels summit.
Several governments criticized Costa's approach for lack of prior consultation, with figures like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opposing and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker supporting, while Ukraine's Zelenskyy reportedly encourages the outreach.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov publicly rejects both EU and E3 diplomatic tracks, claims Europe seeks Russia's defeat, and warns that any NATO-Russia conflict may risk nuclear escalation.

Summit dispute over Moscow channel

As first reported by the Financial Times, Costa's office has reached out to the Kremlin to prepare possible peace negotiations with Ukraine, triggering objections from several leaders at the Brussels summit.

Costa's chief of staff, Pedro Lourtie, has held multiple phone calls with a senior Russian official in recent weeks in what an EU official describes as brief contacts to open communication channels. Diplomats briefed on private discussions say numerous leaders told Costa on Thursday evening that they disagreed with the move, and some asked him to stop pursuing it.

Several governments also say they learned of the initiative through media reports rather than prior consultation. While some leaders accept that Costa, as the political figurehead of the 27-country bloc, is a suitable person to speak on their behalf, they argue that the moment is not right for direct engagement with the Kremlin and that all capitals should have been consulted first.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is among those who push back on the initiative, while Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker says he supports it very much. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is among leaders who publicly register disagreement.

The mixed response comes as one bloc official says the effort is urged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy says Ukraine remains ready for negotiations with Putin, but adds that Europe must throw its full weight behind the effort so Kyiv has a strong position.

Strategic implications for Europe

Europe is trying to insert itself into peace talks that have previously been led by the U.S. and that have stalled in recent months. The debate over Costa's move also overlaps with separate efforts by France, Germany and the UK, the so-called E3, to establish a communication channel with Moscow, with some EU countries favouring that triad as Europe's voice.

Russia is responding aggressively to both tracks. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismisses the EU initiative as using diplomacy as a cover for expansionist ambitions, rejects the E3 effort and argues in an essay published on his ministry's website that Europe is bent on Russia's defeat and is re-arming for conflict by 2030.

Lavrov says dialogue with Europe cannot be conducted as if the continent were an impartial third party. He also warns that direct confrontation between Nato and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, underscoring the risks surrounding any European diplomatic push.

Our earlier coverage of the Brussels summit focused on the EU’s debate over cheap Chinese imports and the pressure to strengthen trade-defence tools against Beijing. We noted that leaders ultimately opted to prioritise dialogue for now, reflecting sharp splits among member states and concern about retaliation that could hit sensitive European sectors and supply chains.

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