Berlin believes talks with Russia might be possible soon

The German government believes talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine could take place in the coming months, despite intensifying attacks from both sides and years of deadlock on key sticking points, reported dpa. “A window of opportunity is slowly opening for talks between the European side and Russia,” government sources said on Wednesday. “However, the fierce fighting of recent days suggests that it is likely to take months rather than weeks for talks to materialize, they added. Ukraine's European allies are currently debating who could lead potential talks with Russia on their behalf, according to the sources. It is likely that Germany, France and the United Kingdom - a group known as the E3 - will continue to play an important role, they said. The E3 countries were involved in efforts to bring the war to an end last year, holding talks with the US and Ukraine. However, talks between Russia and Ukraine were mediated by the US, leaving the Europeans sidelined. But US-led talks have also stalled as Washington's focus shifted to Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the negotiations had become an endless cycle of meetings that lead to nothing, adding that others were welcome to try to end the war in Ukraine. European efforts to bring Russia to the negotiating table come as governments grow increasingly concerned that the conflict could spill beyond Ukraine's borders amid a rise in drone-related incidents in Eastern Europe. It is considered highly unlikely that the EU's 27 member states would appoint someone to lead negotiations who is not part of one of the bloc's governments. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously suggested former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator. Schröder is friendly with Putin and has worked as a lobbyist for Russian energy firms after his time in office. Other names floating around were former German chancellor Angela Merkel, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.