Meloni also wants to talk to Putin

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for negotiations with Russia. She stated this at the annual press conference in Rome.

"If Europe decides to participate in this phase of the negotiations, but will only have a dialogue with one of the parties to the conflict, I am afraid that its positive contribution will ultimately be limited," Meloni said.

She supported French President Emmanuel Macron, who in December called on the EU to resume dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Germany takes a different position on this issue, writes DW***. As Wolfgang Ischinger, acting chairman of the Munich Security Conference in 2026, told Reuters, direct negotiations between Europeans and Moscow are now meaningless. According to him, Russian politicians have repeatedly made it clear that Europeans are "only vassals of the United States" for them. Moscow is probably interested in negotiations only with Washington, Ischinger noted, adding that this is why he did not invite representatives. RF to the conference, which will be held on February 13-15. They wouldn't have come anyway, he said.

*An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent

**An organization whose activities are considered undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation