Among the candidates to represent the EU in negotiations with Putin, besides former Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, is also former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Financial Times reports.
The European Union is considering candidates for politicians who could represent it in potential negotiations with Vladimir Putin regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. The most promising contender for this role is considered to be former President of the European Central Bank (ECB) and former Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, the British newspaper Financial Times reported on Wednesday, May 20, citing sources.
Among other candidates are former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and two Presidents of Finland - Alexander Stubb and his predecessor Sauli Niinistö. According to the Financial Times, EU foreign ministers will meet next week in Cyprus to discuss this issue. The newspaper's sources also report that Ukraine and the United States support the idea of a European Union representative participating in potential negotiations with Russia. Several sources told the FT that Washington understands that the attempts by President Donald Trump's administration to end hostilities in Ukraine "are not working."
Merkel: Current Politicians Should Negotiate with the Kremlin
A high-ranking Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would like negotiations on behalf of the European Union to be led by "someone like Draghi" or "a strong current state leader."
For her part, Angela Merkel stated on Monday, May 18, that she does not see herself in the role of negotiator with Putin and that the interests of the European Union should be represented by current politicians.
According to a source from the Financial Times in Brussels, although former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is "one of the few Europeans who has maintained working relations with Putin" since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is "very unhappy" about his country's accession to NATO. "I think it should be someone from a country like the Netherlands or Portugal, which does not have the same history as Eastern European countries," the publication quotes a senior European official.
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