EU members doubt Berlin, Paris can represent them in Ukraine negotiations

A number of European countries doubt that Germany and France will represent their interests in potential negotiations on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, according to a New York Times report on Saturday citing three European officials. In particular, several smaller countries bordering Russia and Ukraine, such as the Baltic states and Hungary, do not fully trust Germany and France to act as negotiators for the European Union, the report said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in February that Russia sees no benefit from European participation in the negotiation process to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Peskov added that European countries are not participating in the negotiation process, and most of the opinions expressed by European leaders tend to discuss the continuation of the conflict rather than efforts towards a peaceful settlement.