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Germany and France have called for a new EU approach to Russia’s talks with Moscow after US President Joe Biden’s meeting in Geneva with Vladimir Putin.
Ambassadors say Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, wants the EU to consider asking the Russian president for a meeting with EU leaders, and that the move was backed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ambassadors representing Berlin and Paris disrupted another EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday by offering new ideas on the Kremlin agreement, according to people familiar with the talks.
However, Merkel has been in close contact with her European counterparts in recent days, with Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi both visiting Berlin for talks. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the city for talks with the government this week.
Initial talks between EU and Kremlin officials on various issues have already taken place, including the possibility of a major conference on Putin. The Kremlin did not respond to a request from FT for comment.
Germany sees that Biden-Putin conference provides a picture of reviving relations with Russia. Merkel meets Putin regularly, and spoke to him earlier this week on the phone, but advocates finding a platform that allows the EU to speak with one voice to Russia.
“Even though we strongly disagree, we need to have open communication channels, so that we can articulate what we want and what we want and look to see if there are answers,” Merkel said before meeting Blinken on Wednesday.
EU talks with Putin have been suspended since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.
The arrival in Moscow should surprise some EU member states, such as the Baltic countries and Poland, which are a close ally of Russia and want a stronger deal with the Kremlin.
Franco-Germany’s goal came shortly after Moscow’s claim shooting bullets including bombs on the British Navy in the Black Sea near Crimea. The UK denied that any shootings had been fired and said it believed “Russians were doing the” thing “.
EU leaders outlined the future of Russia’s relations at their May summit and criticized the European Commission for suggesting a solution. But Franco-Germany’s writings are more relevant than last week’s committee analysis which warned of “spiritually harmful“In EU-Russia relations and the need to deal with” evils “.
A statement issued to other member states, which, if accepted, could be part of a study by the end of this week, also stated the EU’s willingness to “make decisions” with Russia in areas of interest.
It urges the committee and EU representatives to help create “ideas and benefits” to make it possible. Topics may include climate, environment, Arctic, bilateral relations, health, geography, counter-terrorism and foreign territories including Syria and Iran.
“For this reason, the European Council wants to reconsider existing measures to negotiate with Russia, including the summit,” the statement said.
The article also emphasizes the need for the EU to respond in a coordinated manner to “bad” from Russia, and calls on Brussels to make possible economic decisions.
This comes a day after Merkel spoke to Putin, calling for him to turn 80 during the Nazi era in the Soviet Union.
At the time of the summit, according to the Kremlin, “it was said that overcoming hostility and reconciliation between the Russians and the Germans was crucial in the near future after the war in Europe, and ensuring security on our known continent is now possible through cooperation”.
“The parties agreed on communications with other individuals,” the Kremlin added.
A senior EU official said Franco-Germany’s attempts had brought “stinks” to other EU countries, who expressed frustration at the last-minute intervention at the end of the summit. “It’s not the way things should be done,” the ambassador said.
A government official described the intervention as “ineffective” and a third said it was “continuing” the move. An EU official said the agency would “consider” how to find a way to proceed with the summit, which starts on Thursday afternoon.
Additional extras by Guy Chazan in Berlin and Victor Mallet in Paris
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