The key facts

  • The EU has no unified opinion on who will negotiate with Vladimir Putin
  • The E2, E3, E5 formats and the 'coalition of the willing' are competing for the leading role
  • The disputes flared up ahead of the trilateral meeting of Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi

Disputes within the EU on the eve of the Abu Dhabi meeting

In the European Union, shortly before the trilateral meeting of Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi, disputes flared up over who could take on the role of negotiator with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is reported by the Rapporteur portal, which is cited by Gazeta.Ru.

Disagreements on all fronts

According to Rapporteur, the European Union is being 'torn apart' by disputes over the choice of negotiator: in the north, south, east and west of the union there is no unified opinion on this issue. In addition, the portal notes that 'numerous diplomatic formats are competing for the right to play the leading role in discussions about Ukraine's future.' We are talking about the E2 format (France and Germany), E3 (France, Germany, Britain), E5 (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain), as well as the so-called 'coalition of the willing.'

Context: assessment of the state of relations with Moscow

Earlier, press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stated that Europe has practically frozen relations with Russia down to zero. According to him, this approach has led to instability and conflicts, and the sides have almost returned to the situation of the Cold War era. Peskov noted that instead of discussing all problems peacefully, there is a slide into a very confrontational environment.