Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 16, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleItaly, France, and Germany express interest in renewing dialogue with Russia on Ukraine, marking a shift in EU attitudes. The UK remains skeptical.
By Dmitry Antonov
MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday hailed what it said looked like the desire of Italy, France and Germany to resume dialogue on Ukraine with Russia as a "significant shift" which matched its own view of how the situation should evolve.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper has signalled London does not agree that the time is right to re-engage, however, telling Politico that she had seen no evidence that Moscow wants peace in Ukraine.
"As for Britain, yes, Britain continues to take a radical stance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, when asked about the apparent shift in some European attitudes towards the idea of talking to Moscow.
"Nonetheless... the statements by the three leaders (of Italy, France and Germany) represents significant progress from our perspective," said Peskov, who said that such a shift, if it reflected those countries' strategic vision, was in line with how Russia believed things should evolve.
Moscow had an ongoing dialogue with the United States about so far unsuccessful efforts to get a peace deal in Ukraine, he added, but no such dialogue currently existed with European governments.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said earlier this month that Europe should restart dialogue with Russia to try to win more influence in negotiations over Ukraine, saying the EU should appoint an envoy to deal directly with President Vladimir Putin.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also spoken of the possibility of re-engaging, talking in December of the necessity for a "fulsome dialogue" with Moscow within weeks if a robust and lasting peace for Ukraine was not reached in the meantime.
On Thursday, according to German media, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Russia a European country, saying he hoped ties between the EU and Moscow could be rebalanced.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Andrew Osborn and Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Gleb BryanskiEditing by)
A foreign currency is any currency that is not the official currency of a country. It is used in international transactions and can fluctuate in value against other currencies.
Financial markets are platforms where buyers and sellers engage in the trade of assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and derivatives. They facilitate the exchange of capital and liquidity.
Economic growth refers to an increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period of time, typically measured by the rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
An international financial institution is an organization that provides financial support and advice for economic development projects in countries around the world, such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.
Investment is the act of allocating resources, usually money, in order to generate income or profit. It can involve purchasing assets like stocks, bonds, or real estate.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
