Zakharova pointed out the lack of new steps after Macron's words about the desire for dialogue with the Russian Federation.

The stated desire of French President Emmanuel Macron to hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not go beyond the statements. This was announced at a briefing on February 12 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"As is often the case with our French colleagues, things are still not going beyond words," she said.

The diplomat noted that Russia has never refused to have a dialogue with France, and Paris brought down all relations. In her opinion, there is reason to believe that behind Macron's statements there is a desire not to negotiate, but to get involved in the negotiation process on Ukraine with their own demands.

Why Macron wanted to resume dialogue with Russia. Analysis

On February 10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the existence of contacts between Russia and France at the technical level. He added that Russia has always advocated maintaining dialogue and warned about the dangers of bringing relations to a "zero state." At the same time, the presidential press secretary noted that at the moment there have been no such initiatives from other European countries.

On the same day, Macron invited several European leaders to resume dialogue with Russia. The French leader noted that Paris had restored the channel of communication with Moscow at a technical level, and expressed the hope that in the future the EU would develop an "organized approach" for contacts with Russia.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.