The head of the European Council stated the need for dialogue with Russia on Ukraine in the future.

President of the European Council Antonio Costa said that the European Union (EU) should be ready for dialogue with Russia on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine in the future. This was reported on March 17 by the German newspaper Die Welt.

According to Costa, at some point the EU may need to take up the initiative of US President Donald Trump in achieving peace, especially if his efforts fail or he decides to stop them.

At the same time, he warned against unilateral actions in contacts with Moscow, stressing that now the main contribution of the EU is to increase economic pressure on Russia and continue to support Kiev.

"We want to become independent from Russian energy sources and not negotiate energy prices with Russia," Costa said, answering a question about possible negotiations on gas and oil.

Referring to Hungary's position blocking financial assistance to Ukraine, the President of the European Council called it unacceptable. At the same time, he criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for threatening Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying that inappropriate treatment of the head of government of an EU member state should not be tolerated.

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Prior to that, Armando Mema, a member of the Finnish Freedom Alliance party, noted Zelensky's understanding of the impossibility of Ukraine's victory in the conflict. According to the politician, despite Russia's successes, it continues to remain open to dialogue and diplomacy. Mema also noted that Zelensky should comply with the requirements of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 2 that Moscow remains open to contacts with Washington to resolve the conflict in Ukraine amid the escalation with Tehran, but at the same time it trusts only itself.

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