Last week, media reported that French President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, had visited Moscow for meetings with Russian officials.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow, in solidarity with the Elysee Palace, would neither confirm nor deny those reports.
On February 3, Macron said that groundwork is advancing to restart direct Europe-Russia talks. The French leader stressed the importance for Europeans to "restore their own channels of communication," which are being prepared.
On January 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that European leaders' calls for dialogue with Russia were not genuine and advised those wishing to seriously engage with Russia to avoid making loud public statement, but rather "just give a call."