Macron to invite Russia to last-minute G7 meeting in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested in a message shared on Tuesday to invite Russian representatives to a G7 meeting on Thursday, shortly before EU leaders fly to Brussels for a special summit on relations with the US.

“I can set up a G7 meeting after Davos in Paris on Thursday afternoon. I can invite the Ukrainians, the Danish, the Syrians, and the Russians in the margins,” Macron wrote in the text to Trump, which the US president shared on his own socials.

“I do not understand what you are doing in Greenland. Let us try to build great things,” Macron added.

An Elysée source confirmed to Euractiv the message’s authenticity, adding that “it shows that the French president defends the same line in public and in private”.

If issued, the invitation would mark the first time Russia has been included in a G7-format meeting since it was expelled from the former G8 following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

It was not immediately clear whether an invitation would be extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin or another representative of the Russian government.

Since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, EU leaders have cut off most diplomatic channels to the Kremlin, leaving Washington as the main Western interlocutor with Putin.

In recent weeks, however, more and more European leaders have signalled openness to renewed engagement with the Russian leader to bring an end to the war, nearly four years after the invasion began.

Macron initially suggested opening a direct line to the Kremlin should US-led peace talks fall short, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for Europe to speak with “one voice”. Last week, the EU Commission also said that direct talks would have to take place “at some point”.

Laurent Geslin contributed to reporting.

(mm)