PARIS, February 13. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron said that a possible conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not planned in the coming days, according to remarks he made after an informal EU summit in Belgium.
"This is not a matter for the coming days," Macron said.
He added that his diplomatic adviser had already visited Russia. "We are preparing the ground," the French leader said, according to a video of his speech posted on the Elysee Palace’s X page.
Asked whether he intended to invite Russian representatives to any G7 meetings in France, Macron said that "this is not on the agenda" unless the conflict in Ukraine ends. "But I don’t feel that this will happen soon," the president said.
Earlier, Macron said in an interview with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that he had suggested in a conversation with several European colleagues that the dialogue with Russia be resumed. In his view, the current framework for talks on Ukraine, in which US representatives discuss settlement terms with Moscow without European participation, "is not optimal."
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on February 12 that Macron’s stated desire to hold a phone conversation with Putin had never gone beyond words.