EU weighs envoy for possible talks with Putin, with Finland’s Stubb among candidates

The European Union has not decided who would represent it in possible talks with Vladimir Putin. Politico reports that European diplomats are discussing Finnish President Alexander Stubb among other names.

The need for an EU representative became more pressing this week after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Russia. He proposed a trilateral summit involving Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin to seek a ceasefire.

Czech President Petr Pavel said the EU should appoint one person or a group with a mandate to speak for Europe. He said they would not necessarily need to be EU or NATO officials.

EU institutional candidates

Possible representatives include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Von der Leyen has negotiated directly with Trump on trade, while Costa’s office previously maintained a communication channel with the Kremlin.

An anonymous EU diplomat told Politico that the choice should be based on what would help negotiations, rather than personal ambitions. The diplomat said Europe could not attend talks with several people each claiming to speak for the EU.

Why Alexander Stubb is being considered

According to Politico, Stubb’s advantages include his close relationship with Trump and Finland’s decades of experience dealing with Russia. Finland and Russia share a 1,300-kilometre border and have fought wars against each other in the past.

One diplomat said Stubb was of interest because of Finland’s understanding of Russia and security concerns. Another described him as the only person so far to have demonstrated the high-level political leadership needed for a possible European envoy role.

On 21 October, after meetings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Witkoff said discussions on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine would continue through trilateral talks at the technical level. Axios reported that after talks in Oslo and St Petersburg, the Ukrainian and Russian sides agreed to resume negotiations involving the US.