This is how Stubb responded to the question when it is more dangerous not to talk to Putin than to establish contact with him.
“A time limit cannot be set. But the fact is that at some point it would be worthwhile for Europe to open diplomatic channels towards Russia. It probably depends on the question of whether the current US policy towards Russia or Ukraine is in the interest of Europe or not,” says the Finnish president, who is quoted by the Estonian station ERR with reference to Helsingin Sanomat.
“If the answer is that this may not be the case, then we are probably approaching the moment when one of the European leaders should contact President Putin in a coordinated manner. This debate has been going on among European leaders for the past two years,” he added.
The editor subsequently asked the Finnish president whether American policy towards Russia is beneficial for Europe, to which Stubb refused to answer and avoided the question.
“US policy towards Russia is currently different from Europe’s policy towards Russia. In Europe, Russia is perceived as the biggest security threat, while in the United States it is not necessarily so,” he said.
Stubb is not the first European representative to talk about the need to restore diplomatic relations with Russia. In January, Politico reported that the EU is considering appointing a negotiator with Russia who would negotiate with the aggressor country to end the war in Ukraine.
According to the letter, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniová or French President Emmanuel Macron promote it the most. Supporters say such a feature would give Europe a seat at the negotiating table. On the contrary, critics point out that the appointment would show that the EU believes that Putin is serious about negotiations.
