Europe split because of a call to Putin - who even has the right to talk to Moscow? According to The Guardian, the 90-minute phone call between Finnish President Alexander Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr with Vladimir Putin drew unusually harsh criticism from Denmark and Sweden. "Instead of appearing as a united and homogeneous group, we see division. By the standards of the Nordic world, this is quite serious," said Arkady Moshe, director of the Russia program at the Finnish Institute of International Relations. However, contacts between European representatives and Moscow are gradually being renewed. The publication mentions that during the year the ambassadors of Great Britain, France and Germany met with Russian officials: Macron's senior diplomatic adviser visited Moscow, and the office of the President of the European Council Costa tried to establish its own communication channel with the Kremlin. The debate on the appointment of a single representative for direct negotiations with Moscow intensified against the background of Trump's rapprochement with Moscow at the expense of Ukraine. A new round of peace talks is expected in Abu Dhabi next month, and European governments fear they will be left out of the process that will shape the continent's security for decades to come. So far, no politician has a clear mandate to negotiate on behalf of all 27 EU countries. In theory, Kaya Callas could take on this task, but she has no independent powers, and Moscow put her on the wanted list. According to experts, the absence of a single European negotiation may lead to a further increase in the number of independent initiatives. "Several colleagues told me: Who is the Prime Minister of Luxembourg who will talk to the President of Russia and the President of Ukraine? You are such a small country. It is also a problem of the thinking of some countries who believe that only France, Germany or the US can negotiate," said Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Betel.

Europe split because of a call to Putin - who even has the right to talk to Moscow? According to The Guardian, the 90-minute phone call between Finnish President Alexander Staab and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr with Vladimir Putin drew unusually harsh criticism from Denmark and Sweden. "Instead of appearing as a united and homogeneous group, we see division. By the standards of the Nordic world, this is quite serious," said Arkady Moshe, director of the Russia program at the Finnish Institute of International Relations. However, contacts between European representatives and Moscow are gradually being renewed. The publication mentions that during the year the ambassadors of Great Britain, France and Germany met with Russian officials: Macron's senior diplomatic adviser visited Moscow, and the office of the President of the European Council Costa tried to establish its own communication channel with the Kremlin. The debate on the appointment of a single representative for direct negotiations with Moscow intensified against the background of Trump's rapprochement with Moscow at the expense of Ukraine. A new round of peace talks is expected in Abu Dhabi next month, and European governments fear they will be left out of the process that will shape the continent's security for decades to come. So far, no politician has a clear mandate to negotiate on behalf of all 27 EU countries. In theory, Kaya Callas could take on this task, but she has no independent powers, and Moscow put her on the wanted list. According to experts, the absence of a single European negotiation may lead to a further increase in the number of independent initiatives. "Several colleagues told me: Who is the Prime Minister of Luxembourg who will talk to the President of Russia and the President of Ukraine? You are such a small country. It is also a problem of the thinking of some countries who believe that only France, Germany or the US can negotiate," said Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Betel.