
Good morning. I’m Mared Gwyn with a packed newsletter to start your Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet President Emmanuel Macron in Paris later today – amid reports that Macron discretely sent his most senior diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, to meet his Russian counterpart Iouri Ouchakov in Moscow earlier this week. The debate on opening direct talks between Europe and Russia is now heating up. We have more below, including exclusive lines from the Latvian Prime Minister and Estonian President.