France’s Macron flies to meet Putin in risky bid to avert war
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French President Emmanuel Macron will be traveling to Russia in order to meet Vladimir Putin.
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
France’s president Emmanuel MacronOn Monday, he travels to Russia with one goal in mind. Moscow will give him assurances that tensions at the Ukrainian border would be reduced.
Macron said to French publication: “We will negotiate the terms for de-escalate.” Le Journal du DimancheBefore he travels to Russia.
One must be realistic. Although we won’t be able achieve unilateral gestures it is important to not degrade the situation before we create mechanisms and gestures that foster reciprocal trust,” Macron stated, in a CNBC translation.
In recent weeks, tensions over Ukraine between Russia and the West have escalated significantly. While the U.S., France, Germany and other NATO countries have expressed concern about Russian troop buildsup at Ukraine’s borders, the Kremlin denied that the Kremlin is seeking to invade its neighbor.
Moscow has been critical of NATO deployments to Eastern Europe in the last years. China supported Russia by saying last week that they oppose further enlargement. This is the U.S. has already refused to concede to Moscow’s demands over Ukraine and NATO.
European leadership
The meeting Monday in Moscow will be crucial for French President Francois Hollande, who is pushing for an independent European Union for defense and has also been campaigning for elections for April, when his current term ends.
Macron said that he has had an open dialogue with Putin for years and believes it was his responsibility to find historic solutions. Macron said that President Putin seems to be open-minded about achieving this goal. Le Journal du Dimanche.
The EU, which brings together 27 nations, does not have a common military capacity — instead it relies on NATO for defense matters, where the United States play a fundamental role in decision-making.
Macron is currently focusing his efforts on developing Europe’s strategy military autonomy. But this has become an even bigger issue for Macron as France is in charge of the EU’s rotating presidency until June.
“Paris wants to prioritize a European engagement strategy with Moscow — instead of a US-led one anchored in NATO,” analysts at consultancy firm Eurasia Group said in a research note in late January.
“France’s president also wants to show European leadership — instead of kowtowing to the US — as he campaigns for re-election,” the analysts also said.
Berlin void?
Macron has not yet announced that he would be seeking a second mandate to the French presidency in April’s election. However, opinion polls show that Macron will win and stay at the French presidency for an additional five years. His chances of winning a second mandate in April’s election could be hampered by Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Macron wants to make up for the 16 years of Angela Merkel’s absence as chancellor, and Macron has already begun this process. Merkel was able to maintain close relationships with Russia because of her Russian fluency.
Germany is still struggling to establish a solid foundation in its relations with Russia after the Berlin government change last year.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Malnyk told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach that the world is getting more dangerous. “Germany, which is the most powerful European country and largest economic power in the world cannot remain neutral,” he said Monday.
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