Bloomberg: European and Russian representatives secretly discussed ending the war in Ukraine

Bloomberg News reports that representatives from European countries and Russia met secretly last month for another round of unofficial discussions on how to end the war in Ukraine.

According to the agency, Europe was represented by former high-ranking officials from Britain, France and Germany. The participants reportedly included Tim Barrow, a former British national security adviser; Markus Ederer, a former German state secretary; and Pierre Vimont, an experienced French diplomat. Bloomberg’s sources did not identify who represented Russia at the meeting.

The article notes that officials from Britain, France, Germany and Russia have not confirmed that such talks took place. Bloomberg explains that former officials and think tanks often take part in informal diplomatic initiatives to explore possible solutions to complex international problems. These meetings are usually private efforts with no official mandate, held as expert discussions. Such "second-track" meetings are aimed at exchanging ideas that could later be passed through government channels.

This is not the first time reports have emerged of secret contacts between European and Russian representatives. In July, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that a meeting between German and Russian representatives had taken place in his country, with one of the topics being the end of the war in Ukraine.

In response, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said such talks carried almost no significance for ending the war. The ministry’s press secretary said Ukraine had not authorized Germany to hold the meeting.