Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations with the European Union but will not initiate contact himself, the Kremlin said on Friday, after reports that EU leaders were preparing for possible direct talks with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
The comments followed after Financial Times reported that European leaders were considering a more active diplomatic role amid frustration with US-led efforts to end the conflict.
European Council President Antonio Costa told the FT there was “potential” for the EU to negotiate directly with Putin and said the bloc had the support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for such engagement.
"Putin is ready to negotiate with everyone. He has repeatedly stated this," Reuters quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters when asked about the FT report.
"We will be ready to move forward with our dialogue as far as the Europeans are ready to do so. However, as Putin has repeatedly stated, we will not initiate such contacts after the position taken by the Europeans," Peskov added.
Russia said that any renewed engagement with Europe would have to begin on the European side, arguing that EU governments themselves cut diplomatic ties with Moscow after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
"The Russian side was not the initiator of the complete cessation of our relations with the EU," Peskov said, adding, "This was initiated by Brussels and individual European capitals."
Russia-Europe rift
Relations between Russia and European governments collapsed after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering sweeping Western sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and a sharp reduction in political contact between Moscow and the West.
European leaders have consistently argued that Russia must not prevail in the war, portraying Putin as an authoritarian leader responsible for aggression against Ukraine.
Several European governments have also warned that a Russian victory could embolden Moscow to threaten other countries in Nato alliance, an assertion the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected.
Moscow, in turn, accuses European governments of escalating the conflict through large-scale military and financial support for Kyiv. Putin has frequently described European states as driving the confrontation by supplying Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons, aid and intelligence assistance.
With inputs from agencies
