EU has made diplomatic 'contacts' with Kremlin: Official

AFP , Wednesday 17 Jun 2026

The office of EU chief Antonio Costa has had "brief" diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin to open channels of communication, Brussels said Wednesday, as Europe debates whether to talk to Russia about ending the Ukraine war.

European Council President Antonio Costa gives a press conference during an EU-Western Balkans Summit at Porto Montenegro in Tivat. AFP

"In the past few weeks, brief contacts at the diplomatic level were made to open communication channels, but nothing was discussed on substance," an EU official said on condition of anonymity.

Discussions on Europe re-engaging with Moscow have become louder amid deadlocked US efforts to halt the war in Ukraine, while President Donald Trump's attention has been consumed by Iran.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky -- who is due to join EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday -- has pushed for Europe to play a more active role.

"In any future scenario, the EU has specific interests that will need to be defended, it is important to have established diplomatic channels with Russia," the EU official said.

"The EU is not a mediator. It supports Ukraine in its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace."

The official said that European Council president Costa -- who chairs meetings of EU leaders -- "has been coordinating closely with European leaders on possible engagement with Russia and the issues to be discussed when the right moment comes".

British, French, and German ambassadors to Russia last week urged direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in a rare meeting at Russia's foreign ministry last Thursday.

Trump at a G7 meeting involving Zelensky in France on Tuesday said Moscow should "make a deal" to end its war on Ukraine.

Zelensky said Vladimir Putin had rejected an offer of a meeting at the G7 but said he had also suggested to Trump that he could meet the Russian leader in the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the G7 leaders agreed there was "no genuine willingness" from Russia to make peace in Ukraine after Moscow rebuffed offers from the United States and Europe to engage in talks.

"President Trump, like all of us, simply acknowledged that there was no genuine willingness on Russia's part today to discuss peace," Macron said during a press conference on the final day of the G7 summit in France.