Merkel could be the EU’s candidate for negotiations with Russia

FT: EU foreign ministers will discuss the merits of candidates for the EU’s role in negotiations with Russia.
elchi reports that, citing sources, the Financial Times reports that EU member state foreign ministers will discuss the merits of potential candidates for the EU’s role in negotiations with Russia at a meeting in Cyprus next week.
According to the newspaper, the EU is discussing the candidacies of former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the European negotiator position.
The newspaper’s sources claim that the US presidential administration has informed its EU counterparts that it does not object to EU negotiations with Russia, provided they occur simultaneously with Washington’s own negotiations with Moscow regarding the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
An unnamed high-ranking Ukrainian official told the newspaper that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would like to see “someone like Draghi” or a “strong current leader” in this role. According to the publication, the Ukrainian leader is scheduled to discuss this issue with the leaders of France, Germany, and Great Britain later this week.