The resumption of the EU dialogue with Russia, requested by Merz's party. “Europe must defend its own positions”

Armin Laschet, former conservative candidate for the position of chancellor and influential deputy on foreign policy issues, pleaded for the resumption of the dialogue with Russia regarding the war in Ukraine, describing the current situation as “absurd”, informs AFP, taken by Agerpres.

“Europe is placed under the tutelage” of the United States, Laschet told AFP, emphasizing that the European leaders worked out together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the positions for a peace agreement, which were then sent to Moscow by American negotiators.

“If Europe wants to be sovereign, it must defend its own positions. It is precisely for this reason that the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron was the right one,” added the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German parliament, referring to France's desire to initiate a resumption of talks with the Kremlin.

The Kremlin estimated on Friday as a “positive” sign the declared desire of some European countries to restore the dialogue, interrupted after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in 2022.

Caught between a belligerent Russia and an unpredictable American ally, Europe is trying to reassert itself, especially on the Ukrainian issue, to prevent a potential cessation of hostilities from turning into a dictate for Ukraine and the European Union.