OREANDA-NEWS  Europe made a mistake by refusing to negotiate with Russia at the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. This was stated by the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, Sputnik reports.

"The European Union has invested a lot in Ukraine. There should not be a situation in which the United States, Russia and, possibly, some other third country are sitting at the negotiating table at the right moment, but Europe is not there," the head of state said.

At the same time, Karis stressed that Europe had missed its chance to become a participant in the negotiations, and Russia was no longer interested in contacting it.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that European leaders had stopped contacts with Moscow on their own initiative when they wanted to inflict a strategic defeat on the country. At the same time, the Russian leader stressed that the initiative to restore dialogue should come from the European Union itself.