German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron of France are privately calling for a summit meeting of European leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to steer the European Union toward "closer engagement with Russia," the Financial Times reports, citing people said to be familiar with the diplomatic discussions. Diplomats told the business newspaper on Wednesday that the summit proposal is being spearheaded by Merkel, with Macron expressing support for the idea.

The "summit" idea comes amid efforts by the United States and its allies to isolate China in the Pacific and to form an Asian-Pacific analogue to NATO involving Japan, India, and Australia. Officials, military commanders, and diplomats in both and Moscow and Beijing have spoken repeatedly about the importance of the strategic partnership between the two countries, and rejected efforts by the US and its allies to try to sully the historically strong relations between Moscow and Beijing. At the same time, the two countries have shied away from the creation of a formal military alliance, pointing to their support for the principles of non-alignment and non-confrontation.