A German official said on June 3 that a window for dialogue is slowly opening between Russia and Europe on Ukraine, but an effective and legitimate dialogue format is needed to move forward [1, 2, 3, 4]. The official emphasized that the process is likely to take months, not weeks, and must have Ukraine’s full agreement [1, 2, 3, 5, 4].
There are strong indications that the E3 group — Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — will continue to play an important role in any dialogue with Russia [1, 2, 3, 5, 4]. Coordination is also needed with the United States, whose own talks with Russia have stalled amid a shift in focus to Iran [1, 2, 3, 4].
Russian military advances have slowed this year, while Ukrainian forces have increased pressure, including launching long-range strikes inside Russia, such as an attack on St Petersburg on June 3 [1, 2, 3, 4]. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said reaching a deal to end the war by winter is realistic [1, 2, 3, 4].
German and other European governments rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder represent them in potential talks with Moscow [1, 2, 3, 4]. Steffen Meyer, German deputy government spokesman, said Germany is ready to do its part if a window for talks arises. He said, “We have repeatedly emphasized that we have a strong interest in seeing this war come to an end. We’ve always said that if such an opportunity were to arise, we would of course be ready to do our part.” [5]
The next step will be establishing the concrete format and legitimacy of the dialogue, with Ukraine’s agreement necessary to proceed [1, 2, 3, 5, 4].
