Paris welcomes Kremlin's willingness to negotiate with Macron

The Élysée Palace stated that it welcomes the Kremlin’s readiness for talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron, reports BFM TV.

Earlier, after the EU summit, at which a decision was made to provide a €90 billion loan to support Ukraine, Macron emphasised the need for direct engagement between Europe and the Russian leader. The Kremlin supported this initiative.

“We welcome that the Kremlin has publicly agreed to such an approach. In the coming days, we will communicate the best way to proceed,” the Élysée Palace noted.

At the same time, Paris emphasised that any contacts with Moscow will take place “under conditions of full transparency” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European partners. The goal remains achieving a “durable and lasting peace” for Ukraine.

This mutual signalling represents the first potential high-level Macron-Putin contact since their July 2025 call, amid Europe's concern over exclusion from Trump's backchannel diplomacy (e.g., ongoing Miami talks December 20–21 between U.S. envoys Witkoff/Kushner and Russian representative Dmitriev). France positions itself as a bridge, aligning with the "Coalition of the Willing" for post-ceasefire guarantees, while Russia sees it as leverage for demands like neutrality and sanctions relief.  

By Khagan Isayev