The question most confronting EU leaders and other summit participants was how to contact the Kremlin through the services of EU Council President Antonio Costa and who would represent the EU in any possible peace negotiations. The day before, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden said: “We were not informed about it.” French President Emmanuel Macron even said on Friday that this was “of secondary importance” anyway. He has trust in the people he works with because they share the same goal. Luc Frieden also expressed his confidence in Antonio Costa. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker assured that there was no criticism of the EU Council President because of his initiative. “In our view, opening channels of conversation is not a mistake,” said Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin.
Antonio Costa himself approached the question pragmatically: All EU states want Europe to be at the negotiating table, so contacts need to be established, the Portuguese said after the Council meeting. However, he also made it clear: “The EU is not and does not want to be a mediator.” Because the EU is on Ukraine’s side, said the EU Council President. In any case, there are currently no “credible signs” that Russia is ready for negotiations. Antonio Costa said he still wanted to establish diplomatic channels with Moscow so as not to be dependent on others.
