European Council President António Costa has established contact with the Kremlin as he seeks to involve Vladimir Putin in discussions on ways to end the war in Ukraine. Bloomberg reports this, citing people familiar with the situation.
According to them, Costa’s chief adviser held two phone calls with a senior Russian official close to Putin. The purpose of the contacts is to prepare the ground for more substantive talks in the future.
Costa’s spokesperson declined to comment to the outlet on the information. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to an email seeking comment on the situation.
Costa himself has previously spoken about the need for dialogue with Moscow. According to Bloomberg, the Russian leader is seeking to end the war by the end of the year, but only on terms he considers victorious for Russia—above all, full control over Donbas. Moscow is also seeking a broader security agreement with Europe that would effectively entrench the territories it has seized.
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