European Council President António Costa defended his attempts to establish channels of communication with the Kremlin after the move was met with mixed reactions in the European Union.
"We cannot depend only on others to interpret Russian messages, and we must be able to convey directly to Russia our own messages," Costa said on Friday after an EU summit in Brussels.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that there had been brief contacts at diplomatic level in recent weeks between Costa's office and the Kremlin aimed at establishing communication channels with Moscow.
Diplomatic relations between Brussels and Moscow have been deeply strained since Russia first occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014 and reached their lowest point in decades after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Some countries, including Spain, Italy and Ireland, welcomed the outreach. Other, including Germany and France, were sceptical of the move.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in calling for renewed efforts to end the war in Ukraine, with Europe seeking the lead role in a process that Washington had been spearheading.
Speaking after the talks in Brussels, Merz said it was too early to decide who would ultimately take part in any negotiations.
"First we need to agree on the substance, then we'll clarify the formats. One thing at a time," he said.
Costa dismissed suggestions of rivalry between competing diplomatic initiatives.
"I see no contradiction nor competition between different actors and formats. They are complementary," Costa said.
