A growing swell of EU countries is calling for direct talks with Russia, despite its intensification of strikes against Ukrainian civilians and hybrid warfare against Europe.

Leading figures from Estonia, Latvia, and Luxembourg have joined previous calls by Austria, the Czech Republic, France, and Italy in saying the EU ought to have a role alongside the US in Ukraine peace talks — a move that would de facto end Russian president Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic isolation by the West.

The EU ought to appoint a special envoy for Russia, the Estonian president, the Latvian prime minister, and Luxembourg’s foreign minister told the Euronews broadcaster on Wednesday (4 February) in separate interviews.

“The European Union should be involved in these discussions as well,” said Estonian president Alar Karis, referring to US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which began the same day.

“A couple of years ago, we were in a position that we didn’t talk with aggressors, and now we’re worried that we are not at the table,” he said.

Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa said: “I think you need to engage in diplomacy. You always need to talk, but we need to … still have sanctions on Russia”.

“We have to be at the negotiation table because Ukrainians themselves have started to negotiate. So why should Europeans not negotiate?”, she added.

Luxembourg foreign minister Xavier Bettel said “We need to talk with them [the Russians] if we want a solution … we are absent”.

Bettel proposed himself, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, or EU Council president António Costa as potential EU envoys.

Siliņa proposed French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.

Paris reaches out

For his part, Macron said on Tuesday his officials had already reached out to the Kremlin “at the technical level” to set up a potential meeting.

Macron last met Putin in Moscow on 8 February 2022, but their meeting did nothing to stop Putin fully invading Ukraine 16 days later.

They last held formal phone talks on 1 July 2025.

The then Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer went to Moscow in April 2025 with nothing in return, but the Kremlin-friendly Hungarian and Slovak leaders are the only ones who have regularly visited Moscow since the rupture in Western relations — attracting opprobrium from fellow EU member states.

US president Donald Trump also met Putin in Alaska on 15 August 2025, but failed to stop Russian aggression.

And Putin launched one of his largest air-strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in the history of the four-year war on the eve of the Abu Dhabi meeting.

This didn’t stop the UAE foreign ministry saying on Wednesday that the talks “reflects the commitment of the participating parties to the diplomatic process”.

But the EU Commission told press in Brussels the same day “we have no signs of such willingness yet [for a ceasefire]” from Russia, given its decision to “destroy civilian targets and kill people” on Tuesday.

The EU foreign relations chief Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, and an Estonian foreign ministry spokesman have also said the same, despite Karis’ views, showing the divisiveness of the issue.

“It is not possible to engage in talks with Russia, nor should we offer it a way out of isolation,” the Estonian spokesman told Euronews.

Bettel vs Kallas

Luxembourg’s Bettel attacked Kallas, saying “Who represents Europe? I see Kaja Kallas wasn’t … in Washington when there was [Ukraine] discussions with the president [Donald Trump]. It’s her job”.

He also disqualified her as the potential EU envoy to Russia on grounds “they [the Russians] don’t want to talk to Kaja Kallas”.

But Germany’s Merz was more aligned with her views, with the German foreign ministry saying on Monday there was no point in talks with Moscow due to its “maximalist demands”, as well as its ongoing aggression.

Russia has said Ukraine must cede territory, demilitarise, give up on Nato membership, and forego Western security guarantees.

And Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova proved him right on Wednesday by repeating threats to fire on any European peacekeeping forces sent to Ukraine after a ceasefire.

“Russia has repeatedly made clear that the presence of Western troops on Ukrainian soil, under any flag, threatens our security. We will treat these troops as legitimate military targets,” she said.

Putin also held a phone-summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Wednesday to underline that he was not alone on the world stage.

“Every season is spring” for Russian-Chinese relations, Putin said, according to a Kremlin readout.

His original peace plan touted with Trump had called for Russia’s readmission to the G7 club of powerful countries, lifting of Western sanctions, and amnesty for war crimes.

The EU has also backed cultural, sports, and scientific boycotts of Russia, for instance in the Eurovision Song Contest and international soccer championships, as well as curbing Russian tourist visas to Europe.

And the EU Commission is planning to propose its 20th round of Russia economic sanctions to EU member states on Friday.

Gianni Infantino, the head of the world soccer federation, Fifa, said on Tuesday “this ban has not achieved anything” and “has just created more frustration and hatred” — aligning himself with Trump, who will host this year’s World Cup.

But EU sports commissioner Glenn Micallef said on Wednesday: “Letting aggressors return to global football as if nothing happened ignores real security risks and deep pain caused by the war.”