Britain pointed to the EU's lack of leverage for negotiations on Ukraine
European leaders do not have the leverage necessary to gain a seat at the negotiating table with Moscow on a possible settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. This was stated on January 15 by Financial Times (FT) columnist Martin Sandbu.
"A seat at the [negotiating] table only matters if you have something to say that will make others change their minds. Europe still has its homework to do. <...> Europe cannot offer [Russian President Vladimir Putin] anything for which he would give up control over Ukraine," the article says.
The observer called it an "intriguing sign of change" that some European leaders are now allowing direct dialogue with the Kremlin, mentioning the proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni to create a post of special representative of the European Union (EU) for Ukraine to protect European interests while Moscow and Washington "are plotting something."
On the same day, American journalist Rick Sanchez reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had actually issued an ultimatum to Macron regarding a possible dialogue between the two countries. He noted that after Macron became a fierce proponent of Russophobia and provided Kiev with weapons, as well as involving his country in a series of crises, he is now trying to use possible negotiations with Moscow as a PR move.
On January 14, Lavrov called on the heads of European states to propose specific contacts for dialogue, and not limit themselves to public statements. The Minister stressed that Moscow is ready for negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict if they are open and serious, and long-term peace can be achieved only by eliminating the root causes of the crisis.
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