Russia says Putin open to Ukraine war talks with France’s Macron
Moscow’s response came after the French president urged Europe to ‘re-engage’ with the Russian leader
Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to France’s Emmanuel Macron over the war in Ukraine, the Russian president’s spokesman said in an interview published on Sunday.
Putin has “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Macron”, Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.
“Therefore, if there is mutual political will, then this can only be assessed positively.”
Macron said this week he believed Europe should reach back out to Putin over ending the war.
“I believe that it’s in our interest as Europeans and Ukrainians to find the right framework to re-engage this discussion” in the coming weeks, the French president said.
European Union leaders agreed on Friday to give Ukraine a loan of €90 billion (US$105 billion) to plug looming budget shortfalls, as the conflict approaches the end of its fourth year.