Emmanuel Macron will meet the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, Monday, February 7, in Moscow. The next day, the French president will see his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kiev, the Elysée announced on Friday February 4, in a new diplomatic effort to achieve a de-escalation in the Ukrainian crisis.
The Head of State has multiplied telephone conversations in recent days with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, as well as with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in order to play the mediators in this crisis.
These two interviews will take place face-to-face, said the Elysée, but “in coordination with European partners”. Emmanuel Macron and his advisers have also spoken with several of their European counterparts on the telephone in recent days, recalls the French presidency.
“A constructive dialogue”
The tension remains high in recent hours, Washington having assured Thursday to have evidence – without having presented it – that Moscow was preparing a video of a fake Ukrainian attack, a pretext to invade Ukraine. Kiev is more measured, the Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov, judging ” weak “ Thursday the risk of“significant escalation” of the conflict.
Thursday, Emmanuel Macron spoke in turn with Vladimir Poutine then Volodymyr Zelensky. MM. Putin and Macron notably discussed the “security guarantees” demanded by Moscow, during their third telephone conversation of the week on this subject, the Kremlin reported, referring to “constructive dialogue”.
While the European Union seemed to count very little during the first Russian-American discussions on Ukraine, Mr. Macron has been trying for weeks to put Europe back in the game, which he has been advocating for years and not without difficulty. “strategic autonomy”.
The last meeting between the French and Russian presidents dates back to the summer of 2019, when Mr. Macron invited Mr. Poutine to Fort Brégançon, in the south of France.
