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Belgium’s prime minister has called for the EU to “normalise relations with Russia” to access cheap energy, a rebuff to the bloc’s agreed strategy of maximum support to Ukraine as it seeks to battle Moscow’s four-year invasion.
“We must normalise relations with Russia and regain access to cheap energy. That is common sense,” said Bart De Wever, a rightwing Flemish nationalist who has previously challenged wholehearted EU support for Ukraine. He was speaking in an interview with the Belgian newspaper L’Echo.
“In private, European leaders agree with me, but no one dares to say it out loud. We must end the conflict in the interest of Europe, without being naïve towards Putin,” De Wever said in an interview published at the weekend.
Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has provided hundreds of billions of euros in financial and military aid to Kyiv while imposing economic sanctions on Moscow.
Ending oil and gas imports from Russia — previously one of the continent’s most important suppliers — is a central plank of that strategy.
But the US-Israeli war with Iran has triggered sharp increases in oil and gas prices, provoking discussions across Europe about energy supplies and how to reduce costs for households and businesses.
EU foreign ministers will discuss the war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
De Wever, who last year blocked a Berlin-backed European Commission plan to use Russian sovereign assets frozen in Belgium to fund a loan to Ukraine, said in the interview that the approach of providing military support to Kyiv while trying to undermine Moscow’s economy was not feasible without full support of the US.
“Given that we are unable to pressure Putin by sending weapons to Ukraine, and cannot suffocate his economy without US support, only one method remains: making a deal,” the prime minister added.
De Wever’s statement was criticised by his foreign minister Maxime Prévot, of the centre-left francophone party Les Engagés.
“Should we engage in dialogue with Russia? Yes. That is what diplomacy is: talking, including to those with whom you disagree,” Prévot said. “But dialogue is not the same as normalisation. And that is a crucial distinction.”
Prévot added: “Today, Russia refuses a European presence at the table. It maintains maximalist demands. As long as that is the case, talking about normalisation sends a signal of weakness and undermines the European unity we need now more than ever.”
He also said Belgium’s “support for Ukraine remains unchanged. The prime minister has not said otherwise. Nor has he called for an easing of sanctions. Before any potential peace agreement, that is not on the table.”
In comments late on Monday, De Wever appeared to clarify his position. “I am not defending a different line than my government,” he told Belgian newspaper Le Soir. “It is perfectly obvious that we cannot talk about normalising relations as long as there is a war of aggression against Ukraine. I am talking about a possible scenario, after the war, after a peace agreement that is acceptable to both Ukraine and Europe.”
“The only thing I wanted to say is that the current situation, where Europe is not at the negotiating table but is paying for the war, is not comfortable. We are not going to abandon Ukraine.”
Asked about De Wever’s earlier comments, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said: “We’ve decided in the European Union that we do not want to import Russian energy. Before Christmas we made it into law.”
“It would be a mistake for us to repeat what we did in the past. In the future we will not import as much as one molecule from Russia,” he added.
