(Adnkronos) – European Council president Antonio Costa – one of the European Union’s top officials – could be well placed as a mediator in future peace talks to end the more-than- four-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
“It must be someone who speaks on behalf of everyone,” Tajani said at the ‘Day of Truth’ debates between politicians, the government and businesses organised by conservative daily La Verità .
“Certainly, (Russia’s president Vladimir) Putin, who wants to put (former German Chancellor) Gerhard Schroeder in that role , cannot decide this. And he (Schroeder) is absolutely out of the question,” said Tajani.
Tajani’s view on Schroeder’s suitability as EU mediator echoed comments made last month by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who ruled out Schroeder due to his past a “a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies”.
“It could be the leader of a medium-sized country, an institutional authority, or European Council President Antonio Costa. I believe it’s always better to have someone from the institutions,” said Tajani.
