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Macron Says Useful to 'Leave Path Open' for Dialogue with Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media ahead of a Weimar Triangle meeting to discuss the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in Berlin, Germany, February 8, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media ahead of a Weimar Triangle meeting to discuss the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in Berlin, Germany, February 8, 2022. (Reuters)
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Macron Says Useful to 'Leave Path Open' for Dialogue with Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media ahead of a Weimar Triangle meeting to discuss the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in Berlin, Germany, February 8, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media ahead of a Weimar Triangle meeting to discuss the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in Berlin, Germany, February 8, 2022. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday it was useful to keep alive the chance of dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin after he launched an invasion of Ukraine.

Macron said after a summit of EU leaders that "while condemning, while sanctioning" it remained useful "to leave this path open so that the day when the conditions can be fulfilled, we can obtain a cessation of hostilities".

Macron on Thursday was the only Western leader to speak to Putin after he unleashed the Russian military on his pro-Western neighbor, AFP said.

The Kremlin said Putin held a "frank" conversation with the French leader.

The Elysee Palace said Macron called Putin to demand an end to Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.

"After having spoken with the Ukrainian president, and in coordination with him, the president (Macron) called Vladimir Putin to demand the immediate halt of Russian military operations, noting that Russia risked massive sanctions," the Elysee said.

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Greenland Foreign Minister Says Dialogue with US to Resolve Situation Is Ongoing

Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Bourup Egede speaks during the Foreign Affairs and Development Committee at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP)
Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Bourup Egede speaks during the Foreign Affairs and Development Committee at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP)
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Greenland Foreign Minister Says Dialogue with US to Resolve Situation Is Ongoing

Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Bourup Egede speaks during the Foreign Affairs and Development Committee at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP)
Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Bourup Egede speaks during the Foreign Affairs and Development Committee at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP)

Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Egede said on Wednesday that negotiations with the United States over the Arctic island's future were ongoing, ‌but declined to ‌give details ‌of ⁠the talks.

US President ⁠Donald Trump's assertions that the US must acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, sparked tensions between ⁠Washington and Copenhagen, both ‌founding ‌NATO members, and more broadly ‌across Europe, although ‌the issue has since moved to a diplomatic track.

"The officials are working ‌hard to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, I cannot ⁠share ⁠the details of those talks, but what I can tell you is that our dialogue is ongoing," Egede said during a debate in the European Parliament.

World

EU and Some EU States Summon Russian Embassy Officials Over Leipzig Drone Attack

A police officer in protective clothing works at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany, August 5, 2026, after the police said explosives experts examined a drone near a runway. (Reuters)
A police officer in protective clothing works at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany, August 5, 2026, after the police said explosives experts examined a drone near a runway. (Reuters)
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EU and Some EU States Summon Russian Embassy Officials Over Leipzig Drone Attack

A police officer in protective clothing works at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany, August 5, 2026, after the police said explosives experts examined a drone near a runway. (Reuters)
A police officer in protective clothing works at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany, August 5, 2026, after the police said explosives experts examined a drone near a runway. (Reuters)

The European Union and several individual member states have summoned Russian embassy officials over an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month, officials said on Wednesday.

Germany said on Tuesday it had concluded that Russia was responsible for the incident and ordered a series of measures, including the closure of a consulate and ‌a Russian cultural center ‌in Berlin. Russia has said ‌it ⁠has seen no ⁠evidence to support Berlin's accusations and that it will respond.

EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland on Wednesday that the EU's diplomatic service had summoned the Russian ambassador in Brussels over the incident.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel ⁠Barrot said he had summoned the Russian ‌charge d'affaires in Paris ‌to protest, and that sanctions should be taken at a European ‌level, notably against Russia's shadow fleet.

Dutch Foreign Minister ‌Tom Berendsen said the incident in Leipzig was completely unacceptable and that he had summoned the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on X on ‌Tuesday that he had summoned the Russian ambassador to Belgium.

"This attack comes in ⁠addition to ⁠a long series of unacceptable incursions on the territory of other EU and NATO Allies in the past months," he said.

Russia's ambassador to Germany was summoned on Tuesday.

Responding to Germany's announcement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond to what she called Berlin's "anti-Russian action," according to Interfax news agency. She gave no further details.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin had previously dismissed such accusations as "fabricated provocation" and as "a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany."

World

Russia Will Not Allow Ukraine to Seriously Disrupt Civil Aviation Despite Zelenskiy’s Threat, Minister Says

Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Russia Will Not Allow Ukraine to Seriously Disrupt Civil Aviation Despite Zelenskiy’s Threat, Minister Says

Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Residents walk in front of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine September 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia ‌will not allow Ukraine to seriously disrupt civil aviation operations despite a threat by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to do so, Russia's transport minister said on Wednesday.

Zelenskiy warned airlines and insurance companies on Tuesday that the presence of Ukrainian drones had ‌made Russian ‌airspace dangerous to use ‌and ⁠said it was ⁠effectively closed.

“Of course, we are preparing for this and taking all these threats into account. We are constantly improving flight safety and airport security ⁠requirements, and we have ‌solutions for ‌all of this. We have solutions for ‌all the threats that terrorists are ‌voicing," Andrei Nikitin, Russia's transport minister, was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"We are ‌working in close contact with the Ministry of Defense and ⁠the ⁠Russian National Guard. And I believe that we will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation.”

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Zelenskiy's warning sounded like Ukraine intended to commit "state terrorism." He said Moscow would find a way to respond if it happened.