The Europeans have no leverage to negotiate with Vladimir Putin. This was stated in the social network X by former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
He wonders why Europeans need to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin at all.
"I'm curious what they're going to tell him... "Negotiation is a euphemism for surrender if the shadow of power does not fall on the negotiating table"... What kind of shadow of power is Europe going to cast? Confiscation of frozen assets? I don't think so. Deployment of troops to Ukraine or the closure of airspace? This will not happen," Landsbergis writes.
He expresses the hope that the Europeans have found another lever of pressure that "could really change Putin's way of thinking."
"Otherwise, it will be, at best, a shameful opportunity for a photo shoot, and at worst, an attempt at surrender, undermining the already ongoing hostilities on the Ukraine. Anyway, why not just raise a white flag? This meeting could have taken place literally by e-mail. There is no need for anyone to go and humiliate themselves personally," the former head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry sums up.
As reported by EADaily, diplomatic adviser to the President of France Emmanuel Bonn paid a visit to Moscow on February 3, where he met with presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. This was reported by L'Express magazine with reference to a source.
France is trying to remain involved in the negotiation process, the publication says.
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