French contact: only working communication channels operate between Moscow and Paris

Russia and France maintain communication channels, but the intensity and level of contacts have noticeably decreased. This was reported to Izvestia at the Russian Embassy in Paris. At the same time, Moscow is ready to negotiate not only with the French, but also with the EU, Russian diplomats said. Brussels is now trying to decide on a negotiator who could represent the interests of the entire association in a dialogue with the Russian Federation. What are the risks of such a format and why Macron has not yet phoned Putin — in the exclusive Izvestia article.

The dialogue between Moscow and Paris has not stopped

Despite the difficult geopolitical situation, Russia is in contact with France, the Russian Embassy in Paris said.

"Working communication channels remain open between the foreign ministries and embassies, although the intensity and level of contacts have noticeably decreased," the diplomatic mission told Izvestia, answering the question whether the parties currently maintain working communication channels on issues of Ukraine and European security.

Back in February 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed to his European colleagues to resume the dialogue with Moscow, which was interrupted after the start of the conflict. The leader of the Fifth Republic called his Russian counterpart in July 2025 - their conversation took place for the first time in almost three years. Already in 2026, he again announced his intention to talk with Vladimir Putin as soon as possible, but Macron, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified, "never got to the phone."

Meanwhile, in February, Macron's diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonn informally visited Moscow, who, according to media reports, met with Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, including to discuss the situation around Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed the visit of the French representative, specifying that it did not bring "any positive signals."

And this is not surprising, given the fact that France, according to Sergei Fedorov, an employee of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has lost its former role as an independent mediator. Although back in 2008, Paris acted as the main mediator in resolving the situation in South Ossetia. But after the start of the SVR, the country became one of the main suppliers of intelligence for the Ukrainian army. In addition, the French have been actively supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in recent years, including Mirage 5F fighters and SCALP-EG cruise missiles.

Macron's refusal to develop a direct dialogue with Putin may be due to Paris' lack of new proposals for Moscow, Karin Bechet, a doctor of public law in France and president of the Komitas Gentium France–Russia association, told Izvestia.

— I think he simply has nothing to offer Putin. If there are no new arguments, why call? He also doesn't need an open conflict with Putin, so it's better to keep a pause," she said.

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According to Fedorov, in order to restore Russian-French relations, Paris will have to abandon its current course and return at least to a more neutral approach towards the parties to the Ukrainian conflict.

"But the current president is completing his second term in a year, and he is unlikely to be able to do anything positive to restore our relations," he said.

Who can represent the EU in negotiations with the Russian Federation

Nevertheless, even in the current situation, Moscow is ready to continue dialogue with France and other unfriendly countries.

— The Russian side has repeatedly stated its readiness for negotiations and has not closed its doors to anyone, even the European Union. As Vladimir Putin recently stressed, for a dialogue with Russia, the Europeans need to decide on a leader they trust and who, as our president noted, has not said any nasty things about us," the Russian Embassy in Paris said.

Since 2022, in fact, the only European leader who regularly communicated with the Russian side was former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The head of the Slovak government, Robert Fico, also came to Moscow, most recently on May 9th. Nevertheless, at the pan—European level — in political circles and the press - they were both called "pro-Russian" and criticized for betraying "democratic values."

In April 2022, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited the Russian capital at that time, but it was rather an extraordinary and anti-crisis visit that was supposed to, but could not, stop the Ukrainian conflict.

Now the EU is trying to determine a figure capable of representing the interests of the entire association in negotiations with the Russian Federation. Perhaps this is another reason why Paris is not activating the bilateral track with Moscow. Among the key candidates reported by the media are former Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, current head of the European Council Antonio Costa, former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and current Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

In addition, former politicians were named, for example, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Mario Draghi, who previously headed the Italian government. Vladimir Putin also proposed another former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, to play the role of EU negotiator.

At the EU level, it is now unlikely to find a truly weighty candidate who is equally authoritative both within the union and for an external audience, as views on what is good and what is bad differ too much, says Egor Sergeev, senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

— If talks about a negotiator turn into a practical plane, we are more likely to expect the choice of some kind of technocratic candidate, rather than a charismatic leader. That is, a person who, behind bureaucratic formulations and the inability to violate the general European consensus, will promote conditions unfavorable for Russia. It will be quite in the spirit of the EU," he added.

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According to Sergeev, all of the above persons are suitable, except Merkel and Schroeder. Nevertheless, so far the talks in the EU around the figure of the negotiator look more like information noise. Moreover, the United States is somewhat withdrawing from the conflict, and the EU is trying to fill the resulting vacuum.

The very possibility of starting negotiations, of course, can be called a positive moment — dialogue allows us to avoid escalation and find common ground. At the same time, France and the EU can discuss not only ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but also a new European security architecture. However, there are risks for the Russian Federation if communication takes place in a format promoted by Brussels. The danger lies in the fact that the EU suggests acting collectively in a dialogue with Russia.

In this way, according to Egor Sergeev, the EU tried to influence the availability of resources, prices, and much more. In the external dimension, the temptation to act the same way is very great. By agreeing to the cartel logic of negotiations, the Russian Federation can also legitimize the "negotiating positions" that the EU has prepared in advance.

According to Bechet, the mediator should help the parties to find a compromise, and for this he needs neutrality. Macron, like most other European leaders, unequivocally sided with Ukraine.

Nevertheless, sooner or later the Russian Federation and the EU will have to work on normalizing relations — and if not in order to create a "Greater Europe" from Lisbon to Vladivostok, then at least to avoid armed confrontation. This cannot be done without dialogue. Now it seems that the rapprochement between the positions of Moscow and Brussels is out of the realm of fiction.

But it's worth noting that even Britain and France have been major geopolitical rivals for centuries. Historically, culturally, and geographically, Russia and the EU countries have much more in common than officials in Brussels admit. On the other hand, the American philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote in the middle of the 20th century that rallying the masses against a single enemy is much easier than for the sake of positive things. This is the logic followed by the current leaders of the EU and the leaders of many European countries.