Politico reports:
BERLIN — European leaders are ready to assume the leading role in negotiations to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday.
“What is new, I believe, is that this process is now gaining new momentum in Europe,” Stefan Kornelius, Merz’s spokesperson, said following a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany and the U.K in London late Sunday. “Another new development is that we are taking up and continuing the negotiation process that the U.S. has largely led. We are doing this in close coordination with the U.S.”
The EU leaders clearly believe that the way to bring an end to the war in Ukraine is to negotiate among themselves, without Russia being involved, and then to come up with proposals that Russia is unlikely to accept.
This is a radical new way to negotiate - self-negotiation - and bears more than a passing resemblance to another form of self-related activity.
How can you assume a 'leading role' in negotiations on behalf of one side in a conflict when the other is not involved in the negotiations?
In order for the EU to be at the negotiating table it first has to 'earn the right' as they used to say at IBM:
Admit its role in the 2014 coup and that it is pursuing a proxy war against Russia and explain how it is going to compensate Russia for all the people killed and infrastructure destroyed by its weapons.
That would probably be a good start for any serious negotiations.