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.”
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