Polish PM Tusk: EU Fears Negotiating from Weakness with Russia
Hızlı Bakış
- Polish PM Donald Tusk stated the EU avoids asking Russia for negotiations on Ukraine due to fear of appearing weak.
- He opposed France and Germany leading talks, amid reports of EU leaders confronting Council President Costa over alleged contacts with Moscow.
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the EU's stance regarding negotiations with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine at the end of an EU summit.
BRUSSELS, June 19. /TASS/. The European Union does not want to ask Russia for negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine because it fears negotiating from a position of weakness, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the end of the EU summit.
No one at the negotiating table is trying to convince anyone that it's worth asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate because everyone knows that whoever asks for negotiations is in a losing position before they start, Tusk said at a press conference broadcast on the social networks of his office.
He confirmed that during a closed discussion about such negotiations at the EU summit, he strongly opposed their handling by a handful of countries, such as France and Germany, on behalf of the entire community.
Politico and Bloomberg reported that major EU countries, including Germany, were furious at the summit over alleged preliminary contacts between European Council President Antonio Costa and Moscow, which were reported earlier by the same media, citing anonymous sources. Bloomberg also noted that Costa actually had to justify his initiative at the summit.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Eurotroika puts forward conditions that are obviously unacceptable to Moscow.
Açık Sorular
- Will the EU attempt direct negotiations with Russia?
- What specific contacts occurred between Costa and Moscow?
- How will EU member states resolve their differing approaches to Russia?
