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Germany and France have called for a new EU strategy for a closer engagement with Russia to deepen talks with Moscow following US President Joe Biden’s summit in Geneva with Vladimir Putin.
Diplomats said German Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted the EU to consider inviting the Russian president to a summit with EU leaders and that the initiative was backed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The ambassadors representing Berlin and Paris mistaken the other EU capitals at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday by making new proposals on the relationship with the Kremlin, according to people familiar with the discussions.
However, Merkel has maintained close consultation with European allies in recent days, with Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visiting Berlin to talk. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also been in the city to debate with the government this week.
Early discussions between EU and Kremlin officials on the various proposals have already taken place, including the feasibility of a summit involving Putin. The Kremlin did not respond to a request for FT comments on the proposals.
Germany thinks that the Biden-Putin summit provides a template for reactivating relations with Russia. Merkel meets with Putin regularly and spoke with him earlier this week over the phone, but advocates looking for a format that allows the EU to speak with one voice in Russia.
“No matter how much we advocate, we need to keep the communication channels open so we can clearly express our positions and interests and then look at whether solutions can be found,” Merkel said before meeting with Blinken on Wednesday.
EU summits with Putin have been suspended since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The proposed new broadcast in Moscow is likely to alarm some EU member states, such as the Baltic states and Poland, which are neighbors of Russia and want to follow a tougher line with the Kremlin.
The Franco-German initiative came shortly after Moscow said so fired warning shots including bombs on a British warship in the Black Sea near Crimea. The UK denied that any shots had been fired and said it believed the “Russians were doing an artillery exercise”.
EU leaders touched on the future of relations with Russia at its May summit and accused the European Commission of presenting proposals on how to proceed. But the draft Franco-German text is much more conciliatory than last week’s commission analysis that warned of a “negative spiral”In EU-Russia relations and the need to combat“ evil actions ”.
The proposed wording to fellow member states, which if adopted would be part of the summit’s conclusions later this week, reiterated the EU’s willingness for a “selective engagement” with Russia in areas of common interest.
It encourages the EU commission and diplomatic service to develop “concrete proposals and levers” to this end. Topics include climate, environment, Arctic, cross-border cooperation, health, space, counter-terrorism and foreign policy areas, including Syria and Iran.
“In this regard, the European Council calls for a review of the existing dialogue format with Russia, including meetings at the level of leaders,” the proposed project says.
The text also emphasizes the need for the EU to respond in a coordinated way to Russia’s “evil activities”, calling on Brussels to draw up options for possible economic sanctions.
The proposal comes a day after Merkel spoke with Putin on a call to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
During the call, according to the Kremlin, “it was noted that overcoming mutual hostility and achieving reconciliation between the Russian and German peoples was of crucial importance for the post-war European future and that ensuring security in our common continent is only possible through joint efforts ”.
“The parties agreed on new personal contacts,” the Kremlin added.
A senior EU diplomat said the Franco-German initiative had caused a “stink” among other EU countries, who expressed frustration over the last-minute intervention on the eve of the summit. “This is not a way of dealing with things,” the diplomat said.
Another Member State official described the intervention as “unhelpful” and a third said they were “still analyzing” the surprise. An EU official said the bloc would “reflect” on how to find a way forward ahead of the summit, which begins Thursday afternoon.
Additional reports by Guy Chazan in Berlin and Victor Mallet in Paris
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