Kremlin says Putin willing to speak with Merz and Macron, claims Zelenskyy has not called

The Kremlin has asserted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is open to dialogue with everyone, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. However, they provided an evasive response regarding the possibility of a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Source: Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin press secretary, in a comment to the Russian propagandist channel Yunashev Live, quoted by Interfax

Details: "He will pick up the phone too... Of course, he is open to dialogue with everyone," Peskov said, responding to a question about whether Putin would answer the phone if, for example, the French president or the German chancellor were to call him.

When asked whether Putin would speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he called, Peskov said: "No one has called yet."

The day before, presidential aide Yury Ushakov stated that if Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre wished to call Putin, they could count on him picking up the phone. "There was an agreement that if the leaders want to call Putin, he will always pick up the phone," Ushakov, an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, said.

Background:

• On 27 October, Stubb and Støre held a phone call with Putin.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the conversation, the leaders of Norway and Finland discussed steps to de-escalate the war, particularly in relation to Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
• The Kremlin's account of the call said that Putin had, among other things, reminded Stubb and Støre of the "root causes" of the war against Ukraine.
• Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later said she was highly sceptical about the outcome of the call, which had allegedly not been coordinated with other European countries.
• Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that the call had been coordinated with the Ukrainian side.

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