Macron could lead EU talks with Russia – Telegraph

French President Emmanuel Macron may take the lead in engaging Russia on behalf of Kiev’s European backers in a bid to end the Ukraine conflict, The Telegraph has reported, citing an Elysee Palace source. France’s leader is reportedly not averse to talks, in contrast to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Macron is said to be willing to be a negotiator “when the time is right,” the source told the paper, who added however that time has not yet come. In March, Macron stated that he was “ready to talk” to Russian President Vladimir Putin but only when Kiev and its European backers decide that “the time is right.” 

In early March, Macron and Starmer stated that they were ready to lead a “coalition of the willing” consisting of European countries ready to support Kiev with troops and aircraft if it struck a peace deal with Moscow. Ukraine’s backers in Europe now want someone to head their own talks with the Kremlin independently of US President Donald Trump’s peace effort, the Telegraph reported.

Earlier this week, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he would like to see either London or Paris talking to Moscow. “My personal preference would be that our representatives of the coalition of the willing would be doing that. In other words, France or the United Kingdom,” he said.

Starmer has “no plans” to engage in any talks with Russia, the British newspaper reported.

The Kremlin has denied receiving any requests for talks from the EU or the UK. “There have been no such signals so far,” the Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Friday.

According to The Telegraph, London and Paris are “happy” to let Washington’s peace efforts play out but want more pressure exerted on Russia. Some of Kiev’s European backers also hope that Trump will “lose patience” with Moscow and ramp up active military support for Ukraine.

Britain and France have emerged as Ukraine’s strongest supporters, while the US stance has shifted under the Trump administration. In March, American and Russian delegations met in Saudi Arabia and agreed to begin normalizing relations.

Moscow and Washington have been trying to negotiate a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine conflict, achieving limited progress with a partial ceasefire. Russia has accused Ukraine of violating the truce and claimed that British specialists were involved in a recent strike. Moscow has also rejected the idea of NATO-aligned European troops being stationed in the conflict zone, accusing London and Paris of planning a military intervention that could lead to a direct conflict with NATO.