BRUSSELS: French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized European Council President Antonio Costa for trying to establish contacts with Rus...
BRUSSELS: French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized European Council President Antonio Costa for trying to establish contacts with Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, saying he has no authority to represent other countries when it comes to security guarantees.
"When the negotiations begin, the Europeans should sit at the table, and Chairman Costa, within his defined powers, will have his place. But other member states will be there with him - he cannot represent them when it comes to security guarantees, which will be a key element of any negotiations," Macron said at a press conference following the EU summit.
In his opinion, the European Union cannot be an intermediary in principle, as it supports Ukraine and has imposed sanctions against Russia. He is also convinced that European countries should join the negotiations initiated by the United States. Macron said the change in the position of the American administration, which said that it "is on the side of [the EU], supports Ukraine and is ready to strengthen its support, as well as impose sanctions against Russia."
On June 17, Bloomberg reported that one of Costa's key advisers allegedly held two telephone conversations with a senior Russian official close to the Russian president, which angered a number of EU countries. Later Costa's office, according to DPA news agency, confirmed the contacts with Russia to open diplomatic channels - without a meaningful exchange of views and without negotiations. According to Politico, the overwhelming majority of the EU countries at the summit called for negotiations with Russia on the Ukrainian conflict supporting Costa.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the EU decision to extend anti-Russian sanctions for a year and at the same time its desire to participate in negotiations on Ukraine a very strange tactic.
In an article titled "Ukraine, Europe and Global Security" published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov noted that, as follows from the experience of recent years, negotiations with Russia for Europe are a deceptive tactic, a diplomatic cover for the geopolitical expansion of the West towards the Russian borders. He said that for a meaningful dialogue with Russia, the West must restore the eroded trust with practical and sincere steps, and not with regular ultimatums.
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