Germany, France and the United Kingdom have been coordinating with Ukraine on plans to explore direct talks with Russia, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Those people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said officials from the three European nations have discussed the possibility of negotiating with both sides and have raised the idea with their Ukrainian counterparts.
A German government spokesman declined to comment, and spokespeople for France and the UK did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the report said.
According to the people cited by Bloomberg, the three European governments believe there may be an opening to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table. That calculation comes as US-led diplomatic efforts have stalled and as Russian forces have reportedly suffered mounting losses amid what the people described as a battlefield stalemate.
The sources pointed to growing Ukrainian success with drone strikes deep inside Russia and to what they characterized as signs of resistance to the war at high levels in Moscow. Those developments, the people said, contribute to the allied assessment that a diplomatic window could exist.
Another motivating factor for the proposed outreach is concern about the coming winter. The people said allies aim to avoid another season in which Russia could escalate attacks on civilians and on energy infrastructure - a campaign they say President Putin uses to sap Ukrainian morale.
The people who spoke to Bloomberg emphasized that any final decision to pursue talks would be made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European governments, they said, will not press the Ukrainian president to adopt a course he does not support.
Separately, the sources said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to speak with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron in the coming days. Those conversations are presented as part of the continuing coordination among the three capitals and Ukraine.
The report also noted Zelenskyy’s warnings that Ukraine urgently needs additional Patriot air defense systems and other capabilities, as Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian cities. Last month, Zelenskyy said Europe should try to carve out a role for itself in negotiation efforts that have been primarily led by the United States.
Note on sourcing: The account above is based on reporting that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.