Germany, France Seek EU Backing On Putin Summit Bid

Germany and France will attempt to persuade EU leaders to relaunch regular meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in a controversial bid that Ukraine slammed as "dangerous"

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jun, 2021 ) :Germany and France will attempt to persuade EU leaders to relaunch regular meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in a controversial bid that Ukraine slammed as "dangerous".

Berlin and Paris late Wednesday put forward a last-minute proposal for the bloc to contemplate the idea of a potential summit 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 summit.

"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".

Merkel, who could be attending her last EU summit with German elections set for September, insisted that the 27-member bloc should meanwhile put up "a united front against the provocations" by Russia.