The European Leadership Network is an organisation of former, serving, and future leaders from across the continent who are committed to strengthening Europe’s security. Our Contact Group, first set up in 2017, brings together individuals who can impact national and European policymaking and public debate and who will shape or manage the consequences of present developments in Russia – West relations.
Current members of the Group include Members of Parliament, diplomats, and strategic advisers from across wider Europe. The small number of participants is balanced between Russian experts and opinion-makers and a roughly equal mix of leaders from across the rest of Europe. The group is diverse, exchanges are frank and disagreements are plentiful, but one thing all our members share is an interest in dialogue.
The Contact Group provides an unparalleled opportunity for an informal conversation about security for the near-term and for the next generation. The meetings of the Contact Group allow participants to understand each other’s motives and concerns, provide an opportunity for direct yet confidential interactions, and expand the participants’ international networks.
In June, the Contact Group convened for a two-day in-person meeting in Istanbul to discuss the future of the Group and exchange views on the state of, and prospects for, Russia-West relations.
This month, the Contact Group convened to discuss how the war in Ukraine has changed views on Russia in the South Caucasus.
This month, the Contact Group convened to discuss perspectives from China and India on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
