Armin Laschet, a prominent member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party, called on Friday for renewed dialogue with Russia, saying the current situation was "absurd". Laschet, a former candidate for chancellor for Merz's conservative CDU party, told AFP that "if Europe wants to be sovereign, it must be able to represent its own positions". "That is precisely why (French) President (Emmanuel) Macron's approach is correct," said Laschet, who heads the German parliament's foreign affairs committee. Macron in December said Europe should find a "framework" for engaging with the Kremlin in the "coming weeks". On Friday, the Kremlin called it "positive" that the leaders of France and Italy had called for renewed dialogue with Moscow, which has been all but frozen since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Source: The Local January 17, 2026 19:45 UTC