Arya News - Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar called out the European Union for shutting down communication with Russia, describing it as a mistake while also revealing that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is looking to reconnect with Moscow during an interview with Politico out on Monday.
"One of the mistakes of [the] European Union was that we stopped communicating with Russia," Musar said. She suggested forming a EU group of "wise men and women" to initiate "silent" diplomacy with Russia towards open talks. Dodging direct engagement with Russia, Hungary and Slovakia makes the EU look politically weak, Musar said. Instead Europe should push to sit at the table with "the United States, Russia, Ukraine," she added. Musar revealed she recently talked with von der Leyen about restarting dialogue with Moscow. Von der Leyen "told me that they are working on that," Musar said. Russia has repeatedly said that it can cope with the sanctions pressure. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West and that the sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the global economy.