reduce stress
In recent days, Macron has intensified phone contacts with Putin and Zelensky, as well as with US President Joe Biden, in an effort to mediate the crisis.
“France’s mission is to have a leading role in multilateral efforts aimed at de-escalation,” French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Friday.
He added, “This dispute has been open for several months, and many meetings have been held at the initiative of France. We have made solid progress in recent weeks, especially through a very important meeting (on January 26) with diplomatic advisors to heads of state and government of the Normandy countries, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. “.
He pointed out that this meeting lasted “about nine hours, after which (advisers) reached a joint statement, the first since December 2019, to remind the commitment to de-escalate the situation.”
Other purposes
For his part, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrei Kortunov said that Macron’s visit to Moscow aims to restore his country’s position as a European leader, and to win some points in his favor in the upcoming elections in April.
Kortunov indicated, in statements to the Russian “TASS” news agency, that “this visit was preceded by three talks that Macron had with Putin during the past week alone.
Both showed diverging priorities between Russia and France, with Russia emphasizing security guarantees while de-escalation over Ukraine was a priority for Macron.
He explained that on the eve of the French President’s visit to Moscow, the Ukrainian settlement agenda was activated to some extent in the Normandy format (Russia, Germany, Ukraine, France), expressing confidence that the two leaders would address a wide range of security issues in the next meeting.
He pointed out that Macron “still cannot speak on behalf of NATO nor on behalf of the European Union, because there are other members and they have their own positions. However, French views have always been influential in Europe, so I think that Moscow should take them very seriously.” .
He added, “This meeting is a good sign. The more meetings and contacts like this one, the greater the chances of getting out of the status quo.”
All scenarios are open
Academic specialist in international affairs, Tariq Fahmy, said that France seeks to maintain a diplomatic path that would reduce the escalation, while affirming its adherence to the unity of the European position in dealing with Russia without being bound by the American position as a whole.
Fahmy added, to “Sky News Arabia”: “This trend emerged through sending a special representative of President Macron to Moscow and the meeting that the latter held in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz to coordinate policies, and the Russian-Ukrainian-French-German quartet meeting within the framework of the so-called Normandy formula that It was launched in 2015 to find solutions to the crisis in Ukraine.
Before he added, “But there are dangerous developments, part of which are related to the military maneuvers that Russia is conducting in Belarus, and there are military buildups, all of which represent direct messages to the United States.”
He explained that this matter means that we are facing an open scenario and that the military options precede the political options at this time, as the US administration is escalating with Russia and there are anticipations for positions that may seem new, such as France and Germany, and the latter does not want a military confrontation, and there are reservations within some NATO countries, especially the new countries For Southwestern and Eastern Europe in this context.
He pointed out that the Russian military preparations and maneuvers that it is conducting at this time will be dangerous and will push towards the militarization of the crisis, “I think that Russia is being strengthened by China, and therefore all scenarios are open and all scenes are also included in the context of the Ukrainian crisis.”