French President Emmanuel Macron recently expressed his willingness to resume dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and emphasized his commitment to diplomatic engagement, Euromaidan Press recently reported citing a podcast interview.
Despite confirming that he has had no contact with the Russian leader, Macron suggested he would be open to talking to Putin about certain topics, particularly about nuclear power plants.
"I believe in the power of dialogue, and I would continue dialogue with Vladimir Putin... There has been no [dialogue] in the last few months, but I do not rule it out on this or that topic, including on the issue of nuclear power plants or something else," Macron said on Monday.
In March, Macron rejected the idea that relations between him and Putin had cooled, recalling that he had spoken to the Russian president several times after the Ukraine conflict started, Sputnik reported.
In preparation for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, France had proposed inviting an official from Moscow to attend the event. The White House expressed their displeasure at the idea of a Russian official being invited to the event. US President Joe Biden had been invited to, and subsequently attended the anniversary of D-Day in France.
In late May, France walked back their invitation and announced that they would not be inviting Russia to the 80th D-Day anniversary after the US, the UK and two others expressed their concern about the invitation, Politico reported at the time.
And in April, Macron suggested that the EU should create its own defense strategy of which France’s nuclear weapons would play a key role. His comments drew criticisms from both French colleagues as well as other European leaders. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Economist in late May: "To be clear, there will not be any 'EU nuclear weapons' — that is simply unrealistic.”