French presidency welcomes Putin's willingness to hold talks with Macron

The Elysee Palace said Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to speak with Macron is "welcome" and that Paris will decide on the details "in the coming days," according to the French broadcaster BFMTV.

The response came after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency RIA late Saturday that Putin is ready to engage in dialogue with Macron.

Macron told reporters after the European Council meeting on Friday that it would "become useful again" for him and the Europeans to speak to Putin, following the current efforts by the US to end the Moscow-Kyiv war.

"I think that we, Europeans and Ukrainians, have an interest in finding a framework to re-engage in these discussions properly. Otherwise, we end up talking among ourselves, with negotiators who go off on their own to talk with the Russians, which is not optimal," Macron said.