India, May 10 -- President Vladimir Putin's decision to publicly name former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder as his preferred negotiator with Europe was more than a passing remark delivered after Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. It was a carefully calibrated political signal directed at a continent increasingly divided over how long the European Union can sustain a strategy of confrontation with Russia without eventually reopening diplomatic channels.

"For me personally, Mr. Schroder is preferable," Putin said when asked whom he would trust in negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between Russia and Europe. The Russian president added that he hoped such normalization would begin "soon" because it would benefit both sides.

Th...