Austria's Stocker Urges EU to Reopen Putin Talks as Russia's 4-Year War Stalls Diplomacy
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jun 18
Austria's Stocker Urges EU to Reopen Putin Talks as Russia's 4-Year War Stalls Diplomacy
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jun 18
Summary
Christian Stocker backed recent EU contacts with the Kremlin and said leaders meeting in Brussels should push to reopen negotiations with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.
US-led peace efforts have stalled after more than four years of war, and Stocker said a ceasefire in Iran could shift Donald Trump's attention back to Ukraine and create fresh momentum.
Pedro Lourtie, chief of staff to EU Council president António Costa, has already held brief calls with a senior official close to Putin to open communication channels.
Thursday's summit is expected to expose divisions: Volodymyr Zelenskyy supports opening channels, but diplomats say northern and eastern EU states see Costa's outreach as misguided while Moscow insists Putin's terms remain the baseline.
Stocker paired his diplomatic push with a harder Austrian security line, saying neutrality no longer protects and keeping Austria in the pro-Kyiv 'Coalition of the Willing' as an active observer.