French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the efforts of European Council President Antonio Costa to establish diplomatic contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the EU summit, writes Politico, quoted by Focus.
During a closed summit in Brussels, which lasted two hours longer than planned, Macron and Merz condemned Costa's contacts with the Kremlin, carried out through his chief of staff Pedro Lourtier. However, according to European diplomats and representatives, a significant part of the other leaders supported Costa's position.
According to five European officials, Lourtier has spoken twice with representatives of Moscow in recent weeks. The topic gained additional urgency after US President Donald Trump signaled at the G7 summit that he was once again turning his attention to the war in Ukraine.
The debate outlined two main camps. Macron and Merz believe that the time for talks with Putin has not yet come and that when that happens, the E3 format - France, Germany and Britain - should play a leading role.
Other leaders insisted that only the European Union can speak on behalf of the bloc.
"The first question is whether Putin wants to negotiate. Until then... no one else but Costa can represent the European Union," Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said.
"If he [Putin] shows a willingness to negotiate, then I believe we will have to decide again how we should proceed."
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal also opposed the idea of parallel diplomatic initiatives.
"The European Union cannot take on the role of mediator in these negotiations," he said. "Assumptions that alternative channels or backroom diplomatic paths are needed are wrong... History offers a clear warning about attempts to seek alternative frameworks for negotiations with dictators,'' he warned earlier today.
Adding to the tension was the fact that, according to some diplomats, several countries, including Germany, only learned about the talks with Moscow from the media.
Costa's team defended the contacts, saying they "had the sole purpose of establishing a channel of communication so that, when the time comes, there can be a diplomatic channel with Russia to protect the interests of the EU," adding that the talks were brief and devoid of substance.
The meeting also exposed other dividing lines. Italy and Poland expressed dissatisfaction at being excluded from the initial talks between the E3 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.