Brussels – The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. Or perhaps the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The time to discuss peace between Ukraine and Russia has not yet come, but the European Union is considering who might represent the 27 Member States at the negotiating table, and is doing so ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which is producing initial suggestions, all of which remain to be verified. In this context, Costa’s name “is certainly a prestigious one,” acknowledges Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who has not yet given his official backing to the Portuguese candidate.
Russia has proposed former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator for the forthcoming negotiations, but the proposal has been rejected out of hand. This is partly because, in principle, “it cannot be Russia that chooses who should represent the European side,” Tajani makes clear. Furthermore, explains High Representative Kallas, “Schröder has been a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies,” and she emphasises the roles the German Social Democrat held in 2017 on the board of directors of Rosneft and, from 2022, on Gazprom’s board of directors following his term as head of government (1998–2005). He would therefore not be a name that Europeans would find as “acceptable” as he is “good” for Moscow, and Kallas knows this. “It is clear why Putin wants him to fill this role, so that he can sit on both sides of the negotiating table.”
While waiting to see who will be appointed to represent the European Union at the negotiating table that Europeans are eagerly awaiting, the High Representative appears to be putting herself forward for the role. When pressed on the matter, she replies: “For half my working life, I was a lawyer in a law firm and took part in many negotiations. And the difference between politics and the private sector is that in the private sector, if you are a good lawyer or negotiator, you don’t have to say so yourself because others will say it for you. But
in politics, as George W. Bush used to say,
when a politician doesn’t promote themselves, usually no one else will do it for them.” A cryptic response, which smacks of openness, not least because she then adds: “I must say I think I can see past the traps Russia is setting.” In short, Kallas can hold her own, in her own words. All she needs is the endorsement of Europeans. Even if her
personal failure with the plan for Ukraine does not work in her favour.
For Kallas, however, “before talking to the Russians, I would say we should first discuss amongst ourselves what we want to discuss with them“, and “to that end, I have drawn up a list of demands and concessions that we would like to see from the Russians,” she explained. These include, for example, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova. “Last week I was in Moldova, where Russian troops are present. The withdrawal of their troops could be one of the conditions for ensuring stability and security in the region,” the High Representative specified. For the former Estonian Prime Minister, the meeting to discuss negotiations with Moscow will be the informal “Gymnich” meeting on 27 and 28 May in Cyprus.
Above all, however, there is a sense of mistrust towards the Kremlin’s occupant. “Obviously, peace cannot be achieved without Europe’s involvement,” Tajani observed. “Putin’s statement was just a statement; we’ll have to see if Russia really wants to end the war, because there are too many contradictory statements,” he added. As for Kallas, the prospect of negotiations is a long way off: “At the moment, we are nowhere near the stage of entering into negotiations. We do not see Russia as truly negotiating in good faith,” she commented.
![Il ministro degli Esteri ucraino, Andriy Sybiha, con l'Alta rappresentante per la politica estera e di sicurezza dell'UE, Kaja Kallas [Bruxelles, 11 maggio 2026. Foto: European Council]](https://www.eunews.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/fac-ua.jpg)
![Il ministro degli Esteri ucraino, Andriy Sybiha, con l'Alta rappresentante per la politica estera e di sicurezza dell'UE, Kaja Kallas [Bruxelles, 11 maggio 2026. Foto: European Council]](https://www.eunews.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/fac-ua-120x86.jpg)
