At the end of the EU summit in Brussels on December 19, Macron urged the EU to prepare for talks with Russia if the current negotiations fail to achieve a “lasting peace” in Ukraine. According to the French president, dialog with Putin would be useful in such a case, and a suitable basis for its resumption should be sought. “Otherwise, we will discuss it among ourselves and the negotiators will go to negotiate with the Russians on their own. This is not the best option,” he explained.
“If there is mutual political will, this statement can only be positively assessed,” Peskov said.
It should be noted that in July Macron and Putin had their first phone conversation in three years. They discussed the war in Ukraine, the escalation of the conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, as well as US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. The two sides agreed to maintain contact to coordinate positions on the Middle East.
Following Macron’s call for renewed contacts with Putin, the same day EU heads of state agreed at a summit in Brussels to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro interest-free loan to cover its budget deficit and ensure Ukraine’s defense capabilities. At the same time, they could not agree on the use of Russian assets frozen in the EU to finance this aid.
