France Denies Readiness for Ukraine Dialogue Amid Tensions with Russia

French President Macron criticized Russia's "bizarre and threatening" remarks following a rare phone call between the defense ministers of France and Russia, where France offered to step up exchanges to combat terrorism. Macron denounced suggestions that France was involved in a recent attack in Moscow as "ridiculous" and stated that France had useful information to share on the attack's origin and organization. The phone talks were seen as a change in Macron's approach towards Russia, and France denied Moscow's claim of readiness for dialogue on Ukraine during the call.