Macron Seeks New Talks With Putin, Forcing 'Alternative' Path To Stalled US Negotiations

Suddenly French President Emmanuel Macron is deciding to revive his diplomacy with Moscow and is stepping in and "stealing the show" - as Politico has newly put it - at a moment US-Russia negotiations have been 'constructive' but largely slow and even stalled. Getty Images There's been no breakthroughs in Miami this weekend involving White House envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev, who sat across from Ukrainian national security adviser Rustem Umerov. Macron's office has said, coming just off a European Council summit which saw a controversial Russian assets confiscation plan for funding Ukraine fail to move forward, that France "welcomed" the idea of new direct talks with the Kremlin , but emphasized that negotiations would happen "in full transparency" for Ukraine and its European allies. "It is welcome that the Kremlin has publicly agreed to this approach. We will decide in the coming days on the best way to proceed," the Elysee said Sunday. On the so-called reparations plan, Politico writes that "Macron’s extended hand suggests he's looking to return to the spotlight after months of European foreign-policy leadership by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ." The report notes that "Macron played a key role at a gathering of European leaders in sinking the 'reparations loan' from Russia’s frozen assets, which Merz had publicly backed." Getty Images Macron had in the opening year of the war been the only Western leader of prominence to directly phone Putin on many occasions, seeking a solution to the crisis in the wake of the Russian army entering Ukraine in February 2022. Apparently he now wants to take the lead on behalf of Europe in pushing an alternative plan for ending the war, again at a moment engagement on Trump's plan seems to have gone nowhere : Macron said at last week’s EU summit in Brussels that it would be “useful” for Europe to reach out to Putin to ensure that a peace deal in Ukraine is not negotiated solely by the United States, Russia and Ukraine . “I think that we Europeans and Ukrainians need to find a framework to engage a discussion in due form,” Macron told reporters as the summit wrapped up early Friday morning. The Kremlin on Sunday "expressed readiness to engage in dialogue" with Macron on the issue, according to Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. From Moscow's perspective, this is another PR and diplomatic 'win' - given the optics are that nearly four years into the war, and European leadership finds itself with little negotiating leverage while knowing Ukrainian forces are losing on the battlefield. As Washington and Moscow now control the narrative, Macron wants to step in to force France's say in any future outcome or settlement , rather than wait on the diplomatic sidelines. Arming Kiev to the teeth has done nothing but prolong the needless killing, and perhaps at least some European capitals are beginning to realize this. The following was just from two weeks ago : Emmanuel Macron has reportedly warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy...

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