Overview
- Costa’s office confirmed that his chief of staff, Pedro Lourtie, made two technical phone calls to Russian contacts to open channels for potential talks, a move disclosed at the EU summit on Friday.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized the outreach as uncoordinated and unprofessional, while several smaller member states publicly defended Costa’s treaty role.
- Leaders nonetheless agreed to extend EU economic sanctions on Russia for twelve months and signalled plans for further measures to cut Russian energy revenues and isolate its banking system.
- Separate reporting says US and Ukrainian officials have discussed a two‑phase ceasefire proposal and resumed informal contacts with Russia, but Moscow has publicly rejected the EU as a neutral mediator, limiting who can credibly lead talks.
- The episode exposes a durable problem in EU foreign policy: overlapping claims by EU institutions and powerful member states over external representation, a split that could slow negotiations and prolong harm to civilians if formats remain contested.