Costa defends limited Kremlin contacts to protect future EU interests

Costa made the remarks during a European Council summit in Brussels on June 18, European Pravda reported, citing an EU official familiar with the discussion.

The official said Costa told EU leaders why he decided to establish a channel of communication with Moscow and how it was done. The discussion on Ukraine was held behind closed doors, with mobile phones barred from the meeting room.

Costa confirmed that he had recently initiated “brief diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin.” He instructed his staff to open the relevant communication channel with the Russian side.

Costa said the preparation was needed so that, “when the moment comes,” the EU would be ready to defend its interests.

The official stressed that the contacts are strictly technical and diplomatic. No substantive negotiations or discussions of specific issues took place during them.

“Diplomats are doing diplomatic work,” the official told the outlet.

Reports on June 17 said Costa, through his representatives, had contacted the Kremlin twice in an effort to create conditions that could allow Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to be involved in talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Bloomberg reported that the EU is also discussing next steps to coordinate dialogue with Russia if opportunities emerge for a diplomatic settlement.

The push for Ukraine peace talks

The Group of Seven leaders’ summit was held in Évian, France, from June 15–17. One of the meeting’s main topics was potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. European leaders, in particular, planned to coordinate their positions with U.S. President Donald Trump and involve him in discussing the “five main points” for ending the war.

Those five conditions for a just and lasting peace were set out on June 7 in London during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer; France, Emmanuel Macron; and Germany, Friedrich Merz, in the E3+Ukraine format.

The E3 participants made clear that Europe, as Kyiv’s steadfast ally, must play a key role in any future settlement.

The Kremlin responded to the joint European initiative with its usual criticism. On June 8, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the conditions announced by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany “inconsistent” and said Moscow found it “hard to imagine” talks on that basis.

On June 15, Trump said that after resolving the situation involving Iran, he intended to devote more attention to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said both Zelenskyy and Putin were ready for possible talks.