Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to hold negotiations with “everyone,” including European leaders, the Kremlin said on Friday, after reports that the European Union is considering possible talks with Moscow.
The comments followed a report by the Financial Times on Thursday suggesting that some European leaders are reassessing their approach amid growing frustration over Ukraine peace efforts led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
European Council President António Costa reportedly said there was “potential” for the EU to engage directly with Putin and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported such a move.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin had repeatedly expressed readiness for dialogue.
“Putin is ready to negotiate with everyone. He has said this many times,” Peskov said, adding that Moscow would continue discussions “as far as the Europeans are prepared to go.”
However, he stressed that Russia would not initiate contact following what he described as the position adopted by European governments.
Moscow maintains that European states were responsible for severing ties with Russia after the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
“The Russian side did not initiate the complete breakdown in relations with the EU,” Peskov said. “That decision came from Brussels and individual European capitals.”
European leaders have repeatedly argued that Russia must be defeated in Ukraine, portraying Putin as an authoritarian leader and warning that Moscow could pose a broader threat to NATO countries if it succeeds in the war. Russia has rejected those claims as baseless.
Putin, who ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has accused European governments of fuelling the conflict through military, financial and intelligence support for Kyiv.
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Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 500 injured as strong winds and torrential rain brought down trees, cut power and disrupted transport across the island.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described a deadly shooting in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris, as a racist attack and ‘a turning point’ for the country.
Israeli forces have maintained a tight closure on Hebron in the occupied West Bank for a second day, with Palestinian media reporting home raids, mass detentions and dozens of residents forced outside following a shooting incident the day before.
Armenian authorities have detained 10 more people in a vote-buying investigation involving the opposition Strong Armenia party, just two days before local elections in the northern town of Stepanavan.
Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in France’s largest cities and more than 1,300 people were arrested during demonstrations against the rising cost of living on Saturday (24 October). Police also used a water cannon on a group of around 500 hooded youths in Paris, after the main rally ended.
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