EU Council president initiated contact with Kremlin for talks on war in Ukraine: Report

The EU Council president initiated contact with the Kremlin for talks on the war in Ukraine, said a Wednesday report by US news outlet Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the outlet, Antonio Costa’s top adviser held two calls with a senior Russian official who is close to President Vladimir Putin, intending to lay the groundwork for more substantive future talks.

Representatives for Costa and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment or did not respond, it said.

While EU member states remain divided over possible negotiations with Russia, Costa last month openly argued that at some point the EU will need to address shared security concerns with Russia.