The European Union wants to formulate its own conditions in potential peace negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, and among the topics considered essential are the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The statements were made by the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, ahead of the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
According to her, Moscow is also trying to impose the agenda of the talks and influence the designation of a possible European representative for the negotiations, something that Brussels views with reservations.
“If restrictions are demanded of Ukraine in the military field, then they must be applied symmetrically to Russia as well”she declared.
According to her, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia and Moldova is in the interest of European security.
“It’s a maximalist approach, but Russia has also put forward maximalist demands”, said Kaja Kallas.
In recent weeks, discussions have taken place within the European Union regarding the possibility of appointing a European representative for potential negotiations with Moscow, in the context of diminishing United States involvement.
Among the names being floated for a possible role as negotiator are Antonio Costa, Jean-Claude Juncker, Sauli Niinisto, Mario Draghi, Angela Merkel and Alexander Stubb.
However, the idea of ​​appointing a single European representative is not unanimously supported. Several member states believe that such a decision would be premature, and Kallas and Germany insist that the EU must first establish exactly what objectives it pursues in a possible dialogue with Russia.
According to European officials, one of the main fears is that Moscow will use the potential negotiations to divide European states and influence the continent’s security architecture to its own advantage.