Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for dialogue with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron if the latter is interested, the Russian leader's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti.
After the EU summit in Brussels on December 19, Macron called on the European Union to prepare for discussions with Russia if the current negotiations fail to achieve “lasting peace“ in Ukraine. According to the French president, dialogue with Putin would be “useful“ in such a case and an appropriate basis should be sought for its resumption.
“Otherwise, we will discuss this among ourselves and the negotiators will then go and negotiate with the Russians. This is not the best option,“ he explained.
“If there is mutual political will, then this statement can only be assessed positively,“ Peskov said.
In early December, Macron noted that the European Union would not be able to force Russia to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.
The French president is one of the few European leaders to have contacted Putin directly since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, for which he has been criticized. On July 1, the two presidents spoke by phone for the first time since September 2022.
The conversation lasted over two hours and included discussions about Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, during the conversation, Putin "confirmed fundamental approaches to possible agreements, which should be comprehensive and long-term, address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and be based on new territorial realities."