Overview
- Costa’s office confirmed that Pedro Lourtie placed two short phone calls to Moscow to open diplomatic channels for possible future Ukraine peace talks, and said no substantive negotiations took place.
- The disclosure triggered sharp criticism at the European Council, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron calling the move uncoordinated and unprofessional and saying Costa has no mandate to act as mediator.
- Several smaller member states publicly backed Costa’s preparatory outreach, arguing EU institutions must be ready to represent the Union if talks start.
- Russia’s foreign minister Sergej Lawrow publicly rejected the EU as a neutral interlocutor, saying Moscow sees Europe as a party to the conflict, and framed the contacts as irrelevant to Moscow’s conditions for talks.
- Despite the dispute over representation, the 27 leaders agreed to extend EU economic sanctions on Russia for 12 months, leaving unresolved questions about formats and mandates for any future negotiations and risking a muddled European line if talks begin.