The EU stance on the diplomatic process to settle the Ukraine conflict has not been constructive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Berliner Zeitung reported earlier this week that Finnish President Alexander Stubb is being seen as the most likely candidate to represent Brussels in possible peace talks with Moscow, Washington, and Kiev. Finland’s proximity to Russia – the two countries share a 1,340 km border – and Stubb’s good relations with US President Donald Trump make him the best fit for the job, according to the paper.
When asked to comment by TASS on Sunday, Peskov said that “the EU has been willing to [appoint a negotiator] for a very long time, but it either cannot do so or lacks the resolve to do so.”
The bloc’s stance “can hardly be called constructive” because its leaders “are only talking and not taking any action,” he stressed.
However, the Kremlin spokesman noted that “if there was to be a negotiator – that would be good. And if that negotiator was someone genuinely committed to facilitating a peaceful settlement – that would be even better.”
Peskov did not say how Moscow would react if Stubb is actually given the job. The Finnish president has been one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in the EU. In an interview with German tabloid Bild in August, he claimed that Ukraine was “the best security guarantee” that the bloc had against Russia, arguing that “If Ukraine loses, we lose.”
Following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Moscow announced that it was ready to restart trilateral talks with Washington and Kiev to settle the Ukraine conflict. The next such meeting could take place in Abu Dhabi in mid-November, according to the Kremlin.
The Telegraph reported on Thursday that there has been “a growing sense of urgency” in Europe to find a representative to join the peace negotiations, despite refusing to talk to Russia for years and insisting on a military solution to the Ukraine conflict.
The paper also placed Stubb on its list of candidates being considered by the EU, which also included Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and the head of the Norwegian government, Jonas Gahr Store.
Speaking about peace negotiations on Friday, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Arianna Podesta stressed that “there is an expectation that there will be a multilateral-level discussion with representatives at a senior official level, and the EU will be present at these talks.”
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the EU leaders “constantly speak of a ‘Russian threat’ and even discuss preparations for a war with Russia – which, in my view, amounts to a kind of political schizophrenia. But I hope that it will pass.”
Putin reiterated that Moscow is not seeking a truce but “definitive, long-term agreements” as a result of the Ukraine peace talks, adding that the discussions should also address a wider all-European security architecture.