On Thursday, responding to a journalist's question, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel raised the name of former European Commission President and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as a possible European partner to negotiate with Russia over the war in Ukraine, speaking on the sidelines of an informal council of European foreign ministers in Cyprus.
The former head of government has ties to both sides, Bettel said, adding that Luxembourgers are always a good solution. Europeans should not be represented by a politician from one of Russia's neighbouring countries, the Democratic Party (DP) politician argued, suggesting that figures from the north and the south would be a better fit, perhaps a team of three. In any case, he said, it would have to be someone who "does not want a Nobel Peace Prize". Before negotiations can even be contemplated, he added, Russian President Vladimir Putin would first have to prove he is serious.
Asked about the remarks, Bettel's spokesperson clarified that the minister's comments were not aimed at Kaja Kallas. The Estonian also hails from a country bordering Russia.
In Brussels, there has been heated discussion in recent weeks over who the EU should nominate to lead negotiations, and how the bloc can strengthen its role in the talks between the United States and Russia on a possible peace in Ukraine. Former German SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have already been floated as potential candidates. With his comments in Limassol, the Luxembourg minister also distanced himself from the official Brussels line and from the EU's chief diplomat.
For her part, Kallas left no doubt in Limassol about what she thinks of such speculation over individual names. She described it as a trap that Russia is trying to lure the EU into, speaking on her arrival in the city. The Kremlin, she said, wants the Europeans tied up in arguments and debating whom to designate while the Russians get on with finding someone themselves, and that trap should not be sprung. Negotiations are a collective effort, the EU's chief diplomat underscored, arguing it is far more important to agree on a strategy than to argue over who will carry it out.
Alongside the war in Ukraine, EU foreign ministers were also due to discuss the war in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Representatives from Saudi Arabia have also been invited to the talks.
