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Europe will have to reopen dialogue with Russia — Macron

The French president believes that "Europeans and Ukrainians, will have to find the right framework to re-engage in this discussion in a proper manner"

BRUSSELS, December 19. /TASS/. Europe will have to directly re-engage with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said following an EU summit in Brussels.

"I think that it will become useful again to speak to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin," Le Figaro quoted the French leader as saying. "I think, we, Europeans and Ukrainians, will have to find the right framework to re-engage in this discussion in a proper manner. Otherwise, we will be discussing [a settlement] among ourselves with negotiators who will then go and discuss with the Russian side on their own, which is not ideal," he argued.

Earlier on Friday, European Union leaders failed to coordinate the use of frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan for Kiev. Instead, they agreed to lend Ukraine 90 billion euros for the next two years, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a concluding news conference.

Putin has previously expressed hope that Europe will resume dialogue with Moscow – if not with current political elites in Europe, then with their successors, the Russian head of state noted, as Russia continues to get stronger.

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Emmanuel Macron

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