Belgium’s PM calls for EU to negotiate with Russia for peace in Ukraine

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has called for EU member states to be mandated by its member states to negotiate with Russia, noting that so far, Moscow has not been persuaded to abandon the war in Ukraine.

That is according to AFP, Ukrinform reports.

“Since we are not capable of threatening Vladimir Putin by sending weapons to Ukraine, and we cannot choke him economically without the support of the US, there is only one method left: making a deal,” De Wever said.

He added that bringing Russia to its knees is possible only with “100% support from the U.S.”

However, he noted that, in his view, the U.S. is not fully on Ukraine’s side, sometimes appearing “closer to Putin.”

“Without a mandate to go and negotiate in Moscow, we are not at the negotiating table where the Americans will push Ukraine to accept a deal. And I can already say that it will be a bad agreement for us,” he said.

Earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated that the bloc must first agree on what to demand from Russia before directly approaching Putin.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that due to recent developments around Iran, the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, which had been planned for this week, were postponed at the request of the American side.

Photo: Bart De Wever/X