Macron seeks to talk to Putin 'in the coming weeks' amid revived Ukraine peace efforts
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 6 that Paris is working to establish dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the coming weeks."
This should be done "as soon as possible," Macron said after the summit of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. envoys.
Macron said already in December that Europe would have to find a way to engage with Putin, as Washington seeks to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
The Kremlin said at the time that Putin is open to holding talks with Macron if there is "mutual political will," but no talks between the two leaders have been scheduled since then.
The French president nevertheless stressed that "in the short term, we must continue to support Ukraine in its defense efforts."
"Do you know what our objective is? Peace. But we don't want this peace to be a Ukrainian capitulation," Macron told a reporter.
The comments come after France and the U.K. signed a declaration with Kyiv on deploying a European-led multinational force in Ukraine after the war. The step is part of a security guarantees framework agreed upon among European countries, Ukraine, and the U.S.
It remains unclear whether Russia will agree to the proposal as part of a potential peace deal, since the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the presence of Western troops in post-war Ukraine.
Macron previously held a call with Putin in July 2025 — their first conversation since 2022 — as Washington also renewed dialogue with Moscow, including during a summit between the Russian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska in August.
Throughout 2025, European officials have privately expressed concerns that they are being sidelined in the U.S. outreach to Russia and efforts to reach a settlement in Ukraine.
