The political scientist named possible negotiators with Russia from Europe

Roman Reinhardt, Associate Professor of the MGIMO Department of Diplomacy at the Russian Foreign Ministry, named on Wednesday, May 13, politicians who could hypothetically mediate negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Reinhardt, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Italian Prime Minister and European Commission President Romano Prodi and Pope Leo XIV could become intermediaries.

The expert also noted in a conversation with Lenta.Ru It is currently difficult to talk about the possible format and venue of negotiations between the EU and Russia due to uncertainty about the composition of participants. However, the political scientist suggested that in the case of such a meeting, a format similar to the participation of US President Donald Trump's special representative for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, and American businessman, son-in-law of the head of the White House, Jared Kushner, in resolving the conflict in Ukraine, could be chosen.

Kiev bargaining: Putin said that the Ukrainian crisis is nearing completion

The President spoke about the reasons for the failure of the confrontation between the West and Russia

Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that in order for Russia and Ukraine to begin negotiations on a peaceful settlement, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky must order the Armed Forces of Ukraine to cease fire and leave the territory of Donbass, according to the website. kp.ru .

He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already said this in June 2024, speaking to the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Peskov added that after the order of the Ukrainian leader, a cease-fire should occur so that the parties could calmly engage in negotiations. At the same time, the negotiation process will inevitably be very complicated and must contain a large number of important details.

On May 9, Putin named the candidacy of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as Europe's preferred negotiator for contacts with Moscow. 360.ru . However, on May 10, it was reported that Germany rejected Moscow's attempt to use Schroeder as an intermediary.

On May 12, the Presidents of Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic, Peter Pellegrini, Alexander van der Bellen and Peter Pavel, supported the establishment of a dialogue between the European Union (EU) and Russia. Pellegrini, at a meeting in the Slavkov format, noted that the EU cannot wait until the United States alone leads the discussion on ending the conflict.