Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to dialogue with French President Emmanuel Macron if the French side is truly ready for talks and observes basic standards of decency. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on December 19 at a press conference following talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atti.
“If he is ready for talks, our president has repeatedly emphasized that he is always open to communication, but only if they are polite people with a certain basic decency,” Regnum newspaper quotes Lavrov as saying.
The Russian Foreign Minister also noted that Macron’s statements about the need for dialogue with Russia seem contradictory compared to his previous statements. According to Lavrov, in recent months, the French president has repeatedly placed responsibility for the current situation solely on Russia and Putin himself.
Earlier, after the EU summit in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that it was time for Europe to resume dialogue with Russia.