Stubb noted that the European Union should establish "something similar" to what was done in Kosovo in 1998–1999. At that time, Martti Ahtisaari was one of the mediators in the Yugoslav war and proposed a peace settlement plan—the Agreement on Principles for Crisis Resolution in Kosovo.
“Europe should have a special envoy like Martti Ahtisaari (for Kosovo), and then a deputy envoy at the level of [U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia] Keith Kellogg… and in that sense, we would have some stake in the game,” Stubb said.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković also supported the idea of appointing a special envoy for Ukraine.
“What we have lacked regarding Ukraine in recent years is a single person who would be respected by all, taken seriously in Moscow, acknowledged in Kyiv, and supported in Washington, European capitals, and among other leaders, including in the Global South—someone with the authority to lead peace negotiations. We need high visibility for a strong figure who can manage the process,” Plenković stated.
On Feb. 15, in an interview with Euractiv, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he had proposed convening an emergency European Council meeting to develop a unified position on Europe’s role in negotiations on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
That same day, Keith Kellogg stated that Ukraine must and will be a participant in negotiations to end the war. However, he did not mention European representatives' involvement.
Also on Feb. 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin seeks to negotiate with the United States, but Ukraine will not accept any agreements made "behind our backs."
On Feb. 14, Zelenskyy stressed that reaching any agreements to end the war without Ukraine or Europe’s participation would be a mistake. He expressed hope that U.S. President Donald Trump does not intend to pursue such an approach.
That same day, the foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Germany, along with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, declared their readiness to strengthen support for Ukraine and called for Europe’s involvement in future negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On Feb. 13, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized that any peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war reached without Ukraine and Europe’s involvement is doomed to fail.