Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Estonia's President Alar Karis called on the EU to appoint a special envoy to reopen diplomatic channels with Russia as part of ongoing talks on ending Moscow's war in Ukraine, Euronews reported. A growing number of EU countries now back direct engagement with Moscow, though Germany opposes it outright.
US President Donald Trump seeks to normalize US-Russia relations and continues to push for talks, believing Moscow somehow wants peace. Russia, meanwhile, consistently reiterates its initial war goals amounting to Ukraine's capitulation, while escalating attacks against Ukrainian civilians.
Baltic leaders say Europe needs its own seat at the table
Siliņa and Karis made their case in separate interviews with Euronews at the World Governments Summit in Dubai days ago in Dubai. Both insisted that any communication with Russia must follow consultations with Ukraine. They also said the future EU envoy should be a consensus figure.
"I think we need to do diplomacy. You always need to talk, but we need to isolate Russia and still apply sanctions," Siliņa told Euronews. "We should be at the negotiating table because Ukrainians themselves started negotiations. So why shouldn't Europeans negotiate?"
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Siliņa named French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish PM Donald Tusk, and UK PM Keir Starmer as potential European representatives. She said she was "ready to go if needed" but suggested leaders from larger countries should take the role.
Karis did not name candidates. He said the envoy should come from a major European country and enjoy "authority with both sides." He added that Europe "should also have a say" given years of support for Ukraine.
"A couple of years ago we were in a position that we don't talk to aggressors, and now we worry that we're not there [at the table]," Karis told Euronews, adding that "we should have started this—maybe not President Trump, but the EU—to also start looking for diplomatic solutions."
Karis holds a ceremonial role, and his call for engagement with Moscow clashes with Estonia's official policy, as the foreign ministry warned Euronews against resuming relations with Russia.
Europe divided over engaging Moscow
France, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg, and Czech Republic back the idea of direct engagement with Russia to avoid depending on the White House, which is currently Moscow's main Western interlocutor. Macron said earlier this week that work on appointing an envoy had already begun "at a technical level." Italian PM Giorgia Meloni also supports the move. The idea was first floated last summer, but most EU leaders then considered it impractical.
Germany rejected the proposal, Euronews says. Berlin cited Putin's "maximalist demands" and continued Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities in freezing winter temperatures as evidence that the Kremlin lacks "genuine readiness to negotiate."
