France and Germany want EU summit with Vladimir Putin

After Joe Biden’s meeting with the Russian president, leaders think the bloc can reset relations and help contain its eastern rival
24 June 2021

France and Germany have suggested inviting Vladimir Putin to a summit with the EU as part of a broader reset of the bloc’s relations with Russia.

The proposal from Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel comes after Joe Biden’s Geneva summit with the Russian president, and supporters of the idea argue that European leaders can deliver the same direct messages about Russian behaviour while keeping the door open to compromise and cooperation.

Critics of closer ties to the Kremlin are concerned that it would reward Putin at a time when he is once more building up pressure on Ukraine, and Russia has been accused of stepping up cyber-attacks on the US and its allies. It came on a day when Russian forces claimed to have fired warning shots at a British warship in the Black Sea close to Russian-occupied Crimea, a claim that the UK denied.

The EU has not held a summit with Putin since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and has imposed several layers of sanctions on Russia.

“We need to have a discussion about how to get away from this negative spiral … but we need to advance united,” Reuters news agency quoted one senior EU diplomat as saying, while noting that there could be opposition to a summit from Baltic member states.

It was not immediately clear whether the proposal would involve all 27 European leaders or only the EU’s chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, and its chairman, Charles Michel.

France and Germany want EU summit with Vladimir Putin | Russia | The Guardian


However, next day, how dare they...


EU leaders take hard line on Russia, rebuking Merkel and Macron
Poland and the Baltics lead effort to thwart German-French initiative.

EU leaders early Friday adopted a hardline stance toward Russia — but only after Poland and the Baltic countries took their own hardline stance toward Germany and France and torpedoed a proposal by the bloc’s biggest powers to seek a summit with President Vladimir Putin.

The 27 heads of state and government adopted their tough conclusions on Russia at around 2 a.m. following a protracted and, at times, heated debate. The final result was remarkably humbling, if not utterly humiliating, for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who normally exert the greatest sway in discussions around the European Council table.

Rather than endorsing the language proposed by Germany and France that would have floated the idea of “meetings at leaders level,” akin to the one held by U.S. President Joe Biden with Putin in Geneva last week, the Council approved a statement focused on setting expectations and demands for the Kremlin, which would be a prerequisite for new diplomatic engagement. The Council also threatened new economic sanctions should Moscow persist in “malign, illegal and disruptive activity.”

EU leaders take hard line on Russia, rebuking Merkel and Macron – POLITICO