Germany, France Seek EU Backing On Putin Summit Bid

Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jun, 2021 ) :Germany and France looked to persuade wary EU leaders on Thursday to relaunch regular meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite specific concerns about Moscow.

Berlin and Paris on Wednesday put forward a last-minute proposal for the bloc to consider the idea of holding summits again with Putin in the wake of US President Joe Biden's sit-down with him in Geneva last week.

Moscow said Putin was a "supporter" of the proposal, which would potentially revive a regular fixture that was frozen in 2014 after the takeover of Crimea by Russia.

"In my opinion, we as the European Union must also seek direct contact with Russia and the Russian president," Chancellor Angela Merkel told Germany's parliament ahead of the gathering of EU leaders in Brussels.

"It is not enough for the American president to talk to the Russian president," she said, stressing that the European Union too "must also create different formats for talks".