The Kremlin's reaction was quick. Within several dozen hours, Vladimir Putin declared his readiness for dialogue with Paris. This was a response to Macron's words after Friday's EU summit, when the French president stated that since some international actors are in contact with Putin, Europe and Ukraine also have an interest in finding an appropriate format for talks, reports “Rzeczpospolita”.
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Two years without contact
As the daily reminds, Macron's last attempt at direct contact with Putin took place in July and did not bring a breakthrough. Previously, the two leaders had not spoken at all for over two years. Now Putin has also announced that he will personally take up the case of French researcher Laurent Vinatier, arrested in Moscow on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent”, which may become another topic of possible talks.
Leaders see no basis for talks
Officially, the change in Paris' position is said to be due to the lack of trust in the mediation of Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, who – as “Rzeczpospolita” notes – has repeatedly presented a pro-Russian attitude in peace talks. At the same time, the newspaper emphasizes that there are no signals of the Kremlin's real readiness to end the warwhich means that most European leaders, including Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, currently see no basis for dialogue.
According to “Rzeczpospolita”, Macron's initiative may have a different background. This is about an attempt to stop the new German Chancellor from taking over the leadership of the European Union. It was Friedrich Merz who pushed, among others, the takeover of Russia's foreign exchange reserves and the trade agreement with Mercosur – initiatives that failed, among others. due to French opposition.
The Big Three will take over
The newspaper points out that Paris's weakening position is the result of internal problems: high debt, low support for the president and an unstable government. In this situation, possible contact with Putin could allow Macron to return to the forefront of European politics. However, the format of possible talks remains an open question – one of the scenarios being considered is the so-called The Big Three: Germany, France and Great Britain, without Poland's participation.
