The State Duma spoke about the negotiators proposed by Europe on Ukraine

None of the candidates for negotiations on Ukraine, which are currently being discussed in Europe, is credible. Alexey Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, expressed this opinion on Monday, May 18.

Earlier in the day, Politico newspaper wrote that Finnish President Alexander Stubb, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi could claim the role of a negotiator with Russia, RT reports.

According to the newspaper, the head of the European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, will not be able to mediate in possible contacts with the Russian side — she actually excluded herself from the list of candidates because of her anti-Russian position.

Chepa recalled that Merkel had already participated in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Minsk, but later it turned out that the former German chancellor did not initially have the goal of reaching a peace agreement. According to the parliamentarian, in this regard, it is unlikely to be possible to reach an understanding with such a negotiator now. As for Stubb, his connection to the administration of US President Donald Trump is too obvious and also does not inspire confidence, the deputy noted.

"I'm speaking my mind. I also cannot say that Mario Draghi will have sufficient global authority today. I probably wouldn't have settled on any of these three candidates," concluded Chepa in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

One step forward, two steps back: the EU is talking about the need to establish a dialogue with Russia

Brussels is concerned about the prospect of remaining outside the list of participants in the Ukrainian settlement

On May 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as the preferred negotiator from Europe for the Russian side. 360.ru . This candidacy, however, was rejected in Germany. At the same time, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper pointed out the need for Berlin to appoint its new negotiator for dialogue with Russia as soon as possible.