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Contact failure: Europe is pausing in anticipation of the results of negotiations between Russia and the United States
The leading European countries avoid contacts with Russia. They are monitoring the negotiations between Moscow and Washington, which have not yet yielded results, a European diplomatic source told Izvestia. Since the beginning of this year, the Russian Federation and the United States have been establishing a bilateral dialogue, which has contributed to the normalization of contacts at the highest level. Nevertheless, the expert community notes the continued distrust between the Russian Federation and the United States. Russian sources say it would be wrong to expect quick results. The prospects for the resumption of Russia's ties with European countries and the promotion of the Russian-American dialogue are described in the Izvestia article.
The possibility of dialogue between Russia and Europe
The leaders of the leading European countries have actually interrupted the dialogue with Russia. The Ukrainian conflict hinders the normalization of relations. At the same time, Europe avoids contacts with the Russian Federation, since negotiations between Washington and Moscow, which began after the change of the US administration, have not yet yielded results on the Ukrainian issue.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
— In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a dialogue with Putin. It cannot be said that European countries are abandoning dialogue with Russia," a European diplomatic source told Izvestia. — The phone conversations between Putin and Trump should be considered on two levels. On the one hand, they took place, but on the other hand, they did not bring results.
Since the beginning of the year, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held four telephone conversations. Many European politicians have not yet found a way to restore dialogue with Russia at the highest level. Their main problem is their inability to make decisions on their own, says Petar Volgin, a member of the European Parliament.
— In order to enter into a real dialogue with the Russian Federation now, European leaders need to possess such qualities as independence of thought, courage and commitment to protecting their national interests. Unfortunately, most European leaders lack these qualities. These are dependent people who are unable to think independently, concerned only with how best to carry out orders from Brussels," he told Izvestia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Russia does not refuse to talk with the leadership of European countries. Moscow has a close dialogue with Slovakia and Hungary. So, in 2024, Budapest initiated a "peacekeeping mission" to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. Last summer, Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Ukraine, Russia, China and the United States in turn. At the same time, Hungary is ready to continue its "peaceful mission," the country's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Izvestia.
— We live next door and we want peace in Ukraine. We have had a very consistent position for the last three and a half years. We constantly advocate for a cease-fire and peace talks. And those who criticized us earlier are now saying the same thing," he said.
Moscow is open to contacts with the leaders of major EU countries such as France and Germany. For example, at a meeting with representatives of international news agencies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) Vladimir Putin said that if German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to call him, he can do so.
By the way, the German leadership is ambivalent about the prospects of isolating Russia. In mid-June, prominent members of the Social Democratic Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, issued a "manifesto" calling on the government to "end militarization" and begin negotiations with Russia. The authors of the document opposed the deployment of American medium-range missiles in Germany, scheduled for 2026.
The last telephone conversation between the leaders of Russia and Germany took place in November last year (when Olaf Scholz was the German Chancellor). As for Russia's dialogue with major European countries such as France, Italy and the United Kingdom, top-level contacts were interrupted back in 2022.
Some European elites expect that after the departure of Donald Trump, the United States will again seek to isolate Russia, said Ivan David, a member of the European Parliament.
— Many leaders expect that America will support them in increasing pressure on Russia after Trump. It is clear that these are Poland, Germany under the current government, the Baltic states, Great Britain and France under the current government. These countries understand that it is very difficult for them to stand up to Russia without the United States," he told Izvestia. — The refusal to engage in dialogue with Russia is a manifestation of the lack of realism in international politics, while the EU is increasingly falling into a deep crisis. Everything will depend on how the situation in Ukraine develops.
Most Europeans do not want to support Ukraine at any cost and want an end to the conflict, German political scientist Ulrike Gero told Izvestia. The dialogue between Russia and European countries will resume one way or another, and the only question is under what conditions and when this will happen, says Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club. Normalization of relations between Russia and the United States may be one of the factors influencing this. The American example will be taken into account by the Europeans, the analyst believes.
— A lot will be determined by two factors. First, the dynamics of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict itself. It is clear that there is now some sobering up of European politicians and an understanding is gradually coming about the impossibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia," he told Izvestia. — And secondly, it will be determined by how the Russian-American dialogue develops, since the strategic autonomy of the European Union should not be overestimated. If Russia and the United States develop their relations in a positive way, then, of course, sooner or later this will have an impact on the Europeans too.
If the results of the negotiations between Russia and the United States are seen in Europe, the Europeans may be ready for contacts with Russia, said Bundestag deputy Matthias Mosdorf.
— There is a line of trust and mutual understanding between Trump and Putin. And of course, I hope we will get good and quick results, and then Europe will join," he told Izvestia.
Dynamics of the dialogue between Russia and the United States
The dialogue between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States was the impetus for the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev. In May and June, two rounds of meetings of representatives were held in Istanbul, the key results of which were, in particular, the largest exchanges of prisoners of war and wounded since the beginning of the Free Trade Area. The parties also handed over memoranda to each other, which reflect the visions of conflict resolution. The negotiating groups of Russia and Ukraine are in contact, they are agreeing on a new meeting, which may take place after June 22, Vladimir Putin said earlier.
The bilateral dialogue between Russia and the United States has also made significant progress. For example, Moscow and Washington are negotiating to restore direct flights. In addition, Donald Trump supported the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin to organize hockey matches between Russian and American players.
Steps are being taken towards establishing economic cooperation at the business level. On June 18, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), discussed at SPIEF with members of the American Chamber of Commerce the creation of joint ventures and the return of some American companies to Russia. Kirill Dmitriev said that 10-15 new joint ventures with American companies in various fields could be launched in Russia by the end of the year.
Alexey Likhachev, the head of Rosatom, admitted that Russia and the United States could expand cooperation in the field of peaceful atomics, in addition to supplying uranium fuel.
—Theoretically, anything is possible," he told Izvestia on the sidelines of the SPIEF. "As [IAEA Director General] Rafael Grossi says, it takes two to tango.
In February, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to remove "irritants" in diplomatic relations. Thus, a negotiation process was launched on the return of six Russian diplomatic properties actually confiscated in 2016-2018 in the United States. There is also a substantive discussion on simplifying the visa issuance procedure.
On June 10, the Russian ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, said that during consultations in April, the parties decided to move negotiations on diplomatic "irritants" to the capitals. The next meeting was to be held in Moscow. The other day it became known that the United States canceled it. However, the Russian Federation believes that one should not expect a sharp normalization of relations with the Americans.
— Regarding contacts with the United States, one should not get euphoric from any manifestation of willingness to just talk, nor discouraged by the fact that this is not happening in giant steps. You need to treat this carefully, calmly, with a sense of self-worth. We're opening our arms, but we're not going to rush into anyone's arms if they don't want to see us there," a Russian diplomatic source told Izvestia. — We are guided primarily by our interests and are ready to defend them.
Under the administration of Donald Trump, the United States restored dialogue with Russia, which was interrupted by Joe Biden. However, the expert community believes that relations are still far from fully normalizing.
— Yes, public contacts in the form of confirmed telephone communication occur, but I would not flatter myself, — Mikhail Mironyuk, associate professor of the Department of Politics and Management at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
The purpose of the dialogue is to bring positions closer, ensure trust, and reach binding agreements. However, there is currently no trust between Russia and the United States, as well as between Russia and European countries, the expert states.
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