According to reporters from Der Spiegel, tensions between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have sharply increased over initiatives to resume dialogue with Russia.

Citing its sources, the magazine writes that Macron is not ruling out the possibility of renewing direct contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Berlin, however, the issue is being kept out of the public eye: Merz’s office confines itself to brief, evasive remarks and avoids detailed answers about the initiative. Der Spiegel notes that Macron’s moves do not appear to have been coordinated with the German chancellor, leaving Merz in a position where he is effectively forced to ignore the proposal in order to prevent disagreements with Paris from turning into an open clash.

Friction between the two leaders has also surfaced in the debate over frozen Russian assets that could be redirected to Ukraine. Merz strongly backed the idea and tried to secure its approval at an EU summit, while Macron pushed an alternative «Plan B» and ultimately persuaded Western partners to support that option instead.

Earlier, Macron stated that, in his view, the time had come for Europe to restore dialogue with Russia. He argued that the current format of talks on Ukraine, in which the United States plays the leading role, is not an optimal arrangement for European countries.