The bloc should assert its interests without delegating responsibility to others, Jean-Noel Barrot has said
The European Union needs a direct channel of communication with Russia, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said. The bloc has refused to communicate with Moscow for four years, folllowing the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
The remarks echo growing concern among EU members that their influence has been reduced by US President Donald Trump, who for months has sought to broker an end to the Ukraine conflict through direct talks with both Kiev and Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have called on the EU to appoint a special envoy to Russia to ensure the bloc has a seat at the table.
In an interview with Liberation published on Sunday, Barrot said France had “never ruled out, in principle, engaging with Russia,” provided such talks were conducted transparently with Ukraine and the EU and were “beneficial.”
“The Europeans, who are now Ukraine’s main financial and military backers, must have a channel to assert their interests, without delegating responsibility to anyone else,” he said.
In December, Macron urged Europe to reopen talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to help resolve the Ukraine conflict, warning that otherwise negotiations could proceed without European involvement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Putin was open to dialogue with Macron if there was “mutual political will.” Any potential conversation, however, should not be used by one side “to read lectures” to the other and must serve a clear purpose, he said.
The Russian and French leaders last had a phone call in July. The conversation was their first direct contact since early 2022, when the Ukraine conflict escalated.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, however, has ruled out any direct talks with Moscow, saying last month the bloc has nothing to “offer” Russia and will instead rely on “more pressure” over negotiations. She dismissed reopening diplomatic channels, arguing that US concessions to Ukraine are already significant and the EU has no leverage to entice Moscow.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have repeatedly stated they are open to good-faith negotiations, provided the West respects Russia’s security concerns and abandons the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat through Ukraine.
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