Bart De Wever cautions that the bloc risks a “bad agreement” if excluded from Ukraine peace negotiations
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has urged the European Union to engage in direct talks with Moscow, stating that diplomatic engagement is the sole practical route to conclude the conflict in Ukraine.
In a Saturday interview with the Belgian newspaper L’Echo, De Wever contended that the bloc has not succeeded in compelling Moscow to withdraw solely through military assistance to Kiev or economic sanctions. He cautioned that the EU would be left with a “bad agreement” if it is marginalized from the negotiation process.
“Given that we cannot threaten [Russian President Vladimir] Putin by supplying arms to Ukraine, and we lack US support to strangle him economically, only one option remains: striking a deal,” he told the publication.
“Without the authority to negotiate in Moscow, we will not be present at the table where the Americans will pressure Ukraine to accept an agreement. I can predict now that it will be a bad deal for us,” he further stated.
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump put forward a peace plan that reportedly encouraged Ukraine to relinquish certain territories to Russia. Kiev and its European allies dismissed this alleged 28-point proposal as excessively advantageous to Moscow. Brussels, which has pledged approximately €195 billion in support to Ukraine since the conflict intensified, has promised to continue pressuring Russia.
EU officials were not included in the U.S.-mediated discussions between Moscow and Kiev held in Abu Dhabi and Geneva earlier this year.
De Wever has in the past resisted EU initiatives to seize frozen Russian state assets in Europe to fund a €90 billion loan for Kiev, warning such a move could be tantamount to a “declaration of war”. After being labeled “Russia’s most valuable asset” by Axel Springer-owned Politico, the Belgian Prime Minister responded that a “real politician” must not be guided by emotions.
Belgium is exposed to the greatest legal and financial hazards, as the majority of the frozen Russian funds – €185 billion ($216 billion) – is custodied at the Belgium-based clearing institution Euroclear.