French foreign ministry explains why Macron wants to resume contact with Putin

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, commenting on Emmanuel Macron's statements about possibly resuming dialogue with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has said that Europe is not abandoning direct contact with Russia because it needs to defend its interests in negotiations.

"France has never ruled out the principled possibility of dialogue with Russia, provided there is full transparency with Ukraine and its European partners and, of course, provided that it is helpful," Barrot said in an interview with French newspaper Libération.

At the same time, the minister said Europeans must have dialogue with Russia so that issues concerning Europe are not decided without its participation.

"Europeans, who are currently Ukraine's main financial and military supporters, must have a channel [of communication] to defend their interests, without delegating responsibility to anyone else," Barrot added.

In December, Macron said Europe must find a way to engage directly with the Russian leader.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed with Macron.

Paula Pinho, Chief Spokesperson for the European Commission, said on 12 January that at a certain stage of the process of establishing peace in Ukraine there would be negotiations with the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and the EU would also take part in them.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in turn that he does not object to direct negotiations between European states and Russia.