Italy will nominate an EU candidate for negotiations with Russia: what is known

Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Maloni has announced that she will propose a candidate to represent the European Union in potential negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine.

She made the announcement during a briefing after the G7 Summit.

According to Maloni, the name of the candidate will be announced during the EU summit in Brussels, which is taking place on June 18-19. She emphasized that, in her opinion, this role should be filled by a representative of a “medium-sized country”, and not one of the largest European states.

Against this background, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already arrived in Brussels, where he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

According to Zelensky, the key topics of the negotiations were the agreements reached during the G7 summit, in particular, strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system and obtaining licenses from the United States for the production of air defense weapons.

“The most important thing is to work on strengthening our defense and obtaining licenses from the United States for the production of air defense systems,” the president said.

At the same time, a discussion is intensifying in Europe about who exactly could become the sole representative of the EU in possible negotiations with the Kremlin. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have previously been named among potential candidates.

Against the backdrop of a protracted war and increasing pressure on Russia, the issue of peace negotiations is increasingly being discussed among Western allies, but an official negotiating platform has not yet been formed.