Kremlin Rejected French Proposal for Europe’s Participation in Peace Talks

Advisers to French President Emmanuel Macron on national security – Emmanuel Bonne and Bertrand Buchwalter – visited Moscow in February with a proposal regarding peace negotiations. This was reported by Financial Times (FT), citing a European diplomat.

Europe Asked for a Seat at the Negotiating Table

According to the newspaper's source, the French delegation attempted to persuade the Kremlin to give European representatives a place at the negotiating table. Presidential aide Yury Ushakov reportedly responded with a firm refusal.

The visit in February was confirmed by the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov. He stated that European representatives do not want to assist the peace process.

"When the representative of France arrived, he did not show any positive signals. And therefore there was really nothing positive for him to hear,” Peskov said.

Peskov also stated that Europe is persuading Ukraine to continue the conflict, which he described as a mistake.