Russia said on Friday that security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine involve Europe, making dialogue necessary, though Europe has yet to decide who will speak for it.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Ukraine issue concerns Europe's future security architecture, making dialogue with the European side necessary.
However, he noted that the EU has faced difficulties in coordinating its actions and has so far failed to determine who has the authority to represent it in such talks, even as the bloc made clear that any peace deal would need its participation to be implemented.
Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's statement on Thursday about reaching "a big agreement" to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict that would extend beyond Ukraine to cover Europe as a whole, Peskov said there were currently no relevant details to disclose.
Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, said on Friday that while it remains impossible to determine when and how a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will be reached, the implementation of any such deal requires EU involvement.
Kallas noted that issues such as Ukraine's security guarantees, post-war reconstruction, EU accession, and sanctions against Russia cannot bypass the EU, adding that Europe already has a security architecture with NATO and the EU playing distinct roles, and Ukraine must be integrated into this framework.
On the same day, European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho expressed hope for a near-term agreement between Russia and Ukraine, while stressing that much work remains to be done to achieve that goal. She also welcomed the resumption of talks related to the Ukraine issue.
Russia, EU stress Europe’s role in Russia-Ukraine security issue
A fresh wave of bomb threats targeting commercial flights disrupted air travel across Europe on Friday, prompting security checks at airports in several countries.
Nine flights arriving at or departing from Prague Airport were targeted on Friday, including four inbound and five outbound flights, the Czech News Agency reported. Police inspections found no explosives, and airport operations continued without significant disruption.
The incident came a day after four aircraft heading to Prague received similar threats. Czech authorities have launched an investigation into the incidents and their possible links to similar threats elsewhere in Europe.
In Italy, the control tower at Rome's Fiumicino Airport received an anonymous call on Friday saying there was an explosive device on a passenger plane flying from Prague to Rome, according to Italy's ANSA news agency. The flight was then diverted to land in Venice, and police were carrying out security checks on the aircraft.
In France, four aircraft flying over French territory were targeted, with three landing at Paris-Orly Airport and one at Bordeaux. All four landed without incident and were undergoing security inspections by bomb disposal teams, the French prime minister's office said, adding that an investigation was underway to determine the source of the alerts.
Portuguese police said on Friday that they received a bomb threat that day against a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome, Italy. No explosive device was found after a security search.
The latest incidents follow a series of threats reported on Tuesday and Thursday, with more than 20 flights affected on Thursday alone.
The flights that received threats on Thursday involved countries including Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Finland, and airlines including Ryanair, Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines and Aer Lingus. Some airports and airlines received the threats by email, while some flights received security alerts in the air.
On Tuesday, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria and Italy reported in turn that passenger planes had received bomb threats. Seven planes were involved, causing some flights to be diverted and an airport to be briefly closed.
Europe on alert as fresh wave of bomb hoaxes disrupts flights
