Lithuania opposes EU dialogue with Putin

Nerijus Aleksiejūnas, Lithuania's Ambassador to the European Union, has said that his country opposes proposals to resume dialogue between the EU and Russia.

As reported by Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, Aleksiejūnas said that at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU had agreed on conditions under which contacts with Moscow could be resumed but stressed that those conditions were far from being met.

He noted that there was still no argument suggesting that anything had changed on Russia's side and underlined that this was a commitment agreed unanimously, meaning that any change in policy would also require a unanimous decision.

He also said that the EU still had the opportunity to be involved in peace negotiations on Ukraine, adding that while the union might not be at the very centre of the negotiating table, it remained close to the process and was being kept informed.

On 12 January, European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said that talks would take place with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at a certain stage of the process of establishing peace in Ukraine, with the EU also taking part.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must find a way to engage directly with the Russian leader. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed with this position.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he does not oppose direct negotiations between European states and Russia.