The European Union’s mistake regarding the conflict in Ukraine was that it stopped communicating with Russia.

Axar.az reports that President of Slovenia Natasa Pirc Musar made the remarks in an interview with POLITICO.

“One of the mistakes of the European Union was that we stopped communicating with Russia,” she said, adding that the EU should engage in “dialogue, dialogue, dialogue,” even if previous contacts had not yet produced results.

She also said Europe should work toward being included in broader negotiations involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, noting that the EU risks being sidelined if it does not take part in such discussions.