The leaders of the European Union countries at the Summit in Brussels rejected the call of Germany and France to hold official negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports Bloomberg.
According to two European diplomats, aware of the situation, this proposal of the German Chancellor Angels Merkel and President of France Emmanuel Macron was excluded from the final communique of the EU summit after long negotiations.
As noted by another diplomat, some countries of Eastern Europe during the discussion said they were ready to impose a veto to this document.
Another source noted that about a dozen EU member states gave to understand that they did not like the idea itself, or the fact that she arose at the last minute.
As Merkel said to journalists, she expected from the leaders of the EU countries “more bold steps”. “Formats and conditions for negotiations with Russia will be developed. But not at the level of leaders,” she noted.
One of the compromises that was proposed – the meeting of the head of the European Commission of Ursula von der Lyien and the heads of the European Council of Charles Michel with the Russian leader, reports the Agency.