BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has made tentative diplomatic contact with Moscow, hoping to establish a line of communication that would prevent Europe from being shut out of any future negotiations to end Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, officials confirmed Thursday.
The disclosure came on the same day Russian officials reported that Ukraine had carried out one of its most significant drone attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago. A major oil refinery near Moscow was struck for the second time in a single week, and commercial air traffic at Moscow-area airports was thrown into disarray.
Even as the fighting continues, the EU has been working behind the scenes to restore a diplomatic connection with Moscow while simultaneously maintaining its firm backing of Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, has been attempting to bypass both Europe and Ukraine entirely, pushing to negotiate Ukraine’s future directly with Washington.
“In the past few weeks, brief contacts were made at diplomatic level to open communication channels but nothing was discussed on substance,” said an EU official familiar with the effort, who spoke anonymously given the sensitivity of the matter. A second official, also speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, confirmed the outreach to Russia is underway but would not elaborate.
The first official went on to explain the reasoning: “In any future scenario, the EU has specific interests that will need to be defended, therefore it is important to have established diplomatic channels with Russia. The EU is not a mediator. It supports Ukraine in its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
The Kremlin had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. Putin has consistently argued that Europe has no role to play in resolving the conflict, though he has stopped short of saying he would refuse to speak with EU representatives altogether.
“We have never refused contacts with representatives of the European Union in any format,” Putin said earlier this month. “We are not rejecting contacts. If they want to talk, they know how to reach us. They can pick up the phone and call. If they want to come, they are welcome to do so. It is not Russia that is refusing engagement.”
Officials said European Council President Antonio Costa “has been coordinating closely with European leaders on possible engagement with Russia and the issues to be discussed when the right moment comes.”
The news broke just as EU leaders were arriving in Brussels for their summer summit, with Ukraine expected to dominate the discussions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to speak before the bloc’s 27 member-state leaders, who are working to deepen their relationship with Kyiv.
Earlier this week, Ukraine formally began the process of applying for EU membership, a milestone that will require years of political reform even as the country continues to fight off the Russian invasion.
The developments also follow a gathering of the world’s seven major industrialized nations held this week in the French town of Evian-Les-Bains, where European leaders succeeded in getting Trump to join fellow G7 leaders in pledging “unwavering support for Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine secured important commitments of continued support from world leaders at the G7 summit in France, including from the United States.
