Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday afternoon. Her visit to the Kremlin was a result of a direct invitation from the Russian leader himself on top of Mogherini's originally scheduled trip to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
The talks with Putin were intended to further the negotiation of a longer and more stable truce between the Ukrainian regular army and the pro-Russian Moscow-backed militias. These latter have gained control of the Eastern part of the country, at the same time as the Ukrainian soldiers are gearing up to launch their final push to Donensk, the capital of the Dombass region. There have been growing worries that the situation could provoke a humanitarian catastrophe.
Since the Ukrainian crisis escalated last winter, Euro-Russian relations have suffered a heavy blow. Mogherini's mission is a first step toward the easing of tensions between Brussels and the Kremlin. "Let's hope the EU presidency will be an opportunity to return relations between Moscow and Europe to the level of relations between Italy and Russia," Putin said, referring to the fact that Italy – an EU member state that has very good relations with Moscow – currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council.
Italy, on the other hand, may have its own agenda as well: the Italian Foreign Minister's trip is also seen to strengthen and spread her reputation among the European capitals as well, at the same time as delicate negotiations are being conducted for the highest positions in the EU, with Rome endeavouring to lobby for Mogherini as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The post is currently undertaken by Britain's Baroness Catherine Ashton and Mogherini is widely seen to be her successor.
