European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team of commissioners were in Cyprus on Wednesday to mark the start of the island nation’s six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council, as divisions persist within the bloc over how — and whether — to reengage diplomatically with Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
The visit comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical strain, with security, defence and foreign policy topping the agenda. Cypriot officials say the country’s own experience under Turkish occupation gives it a particular sensitivity to the realities of war and prolonged conflict, shaping its cautious approach toward Moscow.
While France and Italy have publicly advocated reopening direct channels of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cyprus has expressed scepticism, favouring continuity in the current U.S.-led negotiation framework that includes Ukraine.
“There is a negotiation taking place that is driven by the United States. There is a clear methodology to that negotiation. The Ukrainian side is participating in those negotiations,” Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told visiting journalists during briefings in Limassol and Nicosia.
“I don’t think it’s the right time to try and find new ways of changing the whole structure and methodology,” he said, adding that available information suggests the talks are progressing “in a direction that Ukraine says is creating some serious hope.”
Reluctance to reopen channels with Moscow
The question of whether Europe should appoint a special envoy to relaunch dialogue with Putin has gained traction as U.S.-led peace talks accelerate. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have argued that Europe needs its own conduit to the Kremlin to avoid excessive reliance on Washington, currently the sole intermediary between Moscow and Kyiv.
“I believe the time has come for Europe to also speak with Russia,” Meloni said last week, warning that Europe’s influence could be limited if it talks only to one side.
The European Commission has acknowledged that diplomacy with Moscow could resume “at some point,” but cautioned that Russia’s ongoing bombing campaign in Ukraine makes such a move impossible for now. A Commission spokesperson said there were no signs that Putin was ready to engage.
Cyprus, for its part, prefers to maintain the EU’s collective stance of diplomatically isolating Russia over what it describes as grave breaches of international law. Only Hungary and Slovakia have broken ranks to pursue closer ties with Moscow.
“The bigger question is the presence, or lack of presence, of the European Union in this kind of discussion,” Kombos said. “That’s a very serious, bigger question, but at the same time, the long-standing positions are there, and they are to be respected.”
He said Cyprus remains in close contact with the United States and supports the peace effort as it is currently structured.
‘Creative’ path for Ukraine’s EU accession
As EU Council president, Cyprus will also help steer discussions on Ukraine’s accession to the bloc, a sensitive issue increasingly intertwined with the peace process.
Kyiv has pushed to include a fixed accession date in a proposed 20-point peace plan, viewing EU membership as a security guarantee and a possible offset to the costs of territorial concessions. Determining the pace of accession through a peace agreement would be unprecedented for the EU, which traditionally treats enlargement as a lengthy, merit-based process.
Cyprus Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna said the integrity of the accession process would be preserved but viewed through a geopolitical lens.
“Yes, enlargement is a merit-based process, but at the same time, it doesn’t operate in a vacuum. In the case of Ukraine, we understand what is at stake,” Raouna told journalists.
She said the issue was discussed last week during a visit to Cyprus by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
As a starting point, Cyprus plans to help Ukraine advance as much technical work as possible so that, once Hungary’s veto is lifted, Kyiv can open negotiating clusters more quickly. Raouna said implementation would follow once a peace agreement is reached.
European officials hope that U.S. President Donald Trump could eventually persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to drop his opposition to Ukrainian accession. Orbán, however, faces a closely contested re-election in mid-April, making near-term compromises unlikely.
Read more via Euronews/Cyprus Mail
