EU should prepare for dialogue with Russia – Helsinki

Finnish President Alexander Stubb has raised the prospect of engaging with Moscow, citing the bloc’s growing policy divisions with Washington The EU should be ready to resume dialogue with Russia if US policy on the Ukraine conflict no longer aligns with the bloc’s interests, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said. The remarks, made in an interview with the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat and published on Tuesday, come after four years during which Brussels has largely refused to engage in direct talks with Moscow. Asked whether it is riskier not to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin than to resume contacts, Stubb replied that “at some point” the EU would need to reopen diplomatic channels. He said the decision would “likely depend” on whether Washington’s current approach to Russia and the Ukraine conflict aligns with the EU’s priorities. “If the answer is that it may not, then we are probably getting close to the moment when some European leader should, in a coordinated way, engage with President Putin,” Stubb said, adding that discussion on the matter have taken place “for the past two years.” The Finnish president also said that US policy toward Russia differs from that of the EU, noting that the bloc views Russia as “the biggest security threat.” Read more Baltic state’s president calls for dialogue with Russia – media Moscow has consistently dismissed Western claims that it poses a threat, calling them “nonsense” and “fearmongering” used to justify rising military spending, including the EU’s €800 billion “ReArm Europe” plan and NATO members’ pledge to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Calls within the EU to resume dialogue with Moscow have been growing. Last month, Estonian President Alar Karis said the bloc should be ready for talks if the Ukraine conflict ends “quite suddenly,” while other European leaders have urged renewed engagement after the bloc was largely sidelined from peace efforts initiated by US President Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Moscow has never rejected direct contact with Western leaders and “they can just call President Putin.” However, the discussion must have a clear purpose and not devolve into a PR stunt with one side lecturing the other, he said.