December 21, 2025, 11:16 amDecember 21, 2025, 11:16 am
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to French President Emmanuel Macron. Putin has also expressed his willingness to have a dialogue with Macron, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Pekov said, according to the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. If there is mutual political will, this can only be viewed positively, he explained.
Paris described the Russian president’s willingness to speak with Macron as welcome. French media, citing the presidential palace, report that Paris will decide in the coming days how the conversation should take place.
Macron said on Friday that it could be useful for Europe and Ukraine to talk to Putin again to be directly involved in the discussion. “Otherwise we will discuss among ourselves with negotiators who will discuss alone with the Russians. That’s not ideal.”
Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans spoke in Berlin last Sunday and Monday about a peace solution for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia almost four years ago. Talks entered the next round in Miami this weekend. The US negotiators want to feed back the results from Berlin to the Russian representatives. Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev called the talks constructive after a first round. (sda/dpa)