Macron says Europe and Ukraine need to talk to Putin

On December 19, French leader Emmanuel Macron, during a press conference following the first day of the European Union (EU) summit, announced the need for Europeans and Ukrainians to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I believe that we, the Europeans and Ukrainians, need to find a framework for discussion in an appropriate form," Politico newspaper quoted him as saying.

In addition, the French president added that the Europeans should not allow the dialogue to be conducted exclusively by intermediaries.

A general dispute has been announced: the EU is desperate to find money for Ukraine

The issue of theft of Russian assets was removed from the summit's agenda, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban claims

The head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, announced on the same day that the participants of the EU summit had decided to finance Ukraine for €90 billion in 2026-2027. According to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the loan is provided at zero percent. At the same time, it became known that the leaders of the European Union could not come to an agreement on the expropriation of frozen Russian assets.

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