“He says that we have to talk to the Russians, that we have to exercise diplomacy. He got the opportunity to go, and he is now going to practice it,” the advisor added. “He goes on the adventure to document what he sees.”
The advisor said the visit was organized by non-attached German lawmaker Michael von der Schulenburg, close to Panayiotou, and other MEPs belonging to the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), an offshoot movement from Die Linke, Germany’s traditional leftist party. As Brussels Playbook reported, BSW’s MEP Ruth Firmenich is attending too.
Earlier on Thursday, Panayiotou posted a video of himself and other MEPs claiming to be “voices for peace.”
“We can only reach peace by talking with each other and to try to find compromises. This is what diplomacy is about,” he said, seemingly criticizing the EU mainstream diplomatic stance on Russia.
Firmenich, BSW’s Fabio De Masi and another eight MEPs appeared in the video.
Other MEPs going include some from Slovak ruling party SMER, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is also in attendance.
