Macron in Moscow: Seeking A Historic Solution to Ukraine Crisis

By Staff, Agencies 

Ahead of his arrival in Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, French president Emmanuel Macron believes he can deliver “a historic solution” to the Ukraine crisis.

After a flurry of diplomatic activity that included talks with US president Joe Biden this weekend and three phone calls with Putin, Macron will land in Moscow on Monday seeking a “de-escalation” of the tense standoff on Ukraine’s eastern borders.

Russia has denied planning to invade Ukraine but has tens of thousands of troops near its neighbor’s borders, while the US ordered about 3,000 extra troops to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in Poland and Romania.

Meanwhile, Macron told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday that Russia’s objective was “not Ukraine, but a clarification of the rules … with NATO and the EU.”

It was therefore “urgent to advance towards a new order which our Europe needs profoundly and which rests on the cardinal principle of sovereign equality among states”, he told the paper.

He said his dialogue with Putin would probably be enough to prevent military conflict breaking out despite the pessimistic assessments in many western capitals.

“The intensity of the dialogue we have had with Russia and this visit to Moscow are designed to stop that happening,” Macron said.

“Then we will discuss the terms of de-escalation. We have to be very realistic. We will not obtain unilateral gestures, but it’s essential to stop the situation deteriorating.”

Macron, whose diplomacy has been strengthened by France being the current holder of the European presidency, said he had “always been in a deep dialogue with president Putin and our responsibility is to build a historic solution” to the problem of European security. “I believe President Putin is available for this,” Macron said.

The French leader, who faces a presidential election challenge from far-right candidates in April, will travel to Kiev on Tuesday for talks with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

While Macron is in Moscow, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will be in Washington for talks with Joe Biden on Monday, aiming to narrow differences between the US and German approach to the crisis. Berlin has been criticized by some NATO allies for not supplying Ukraine with weapons.

“There are strict export criteria we are following on the export of weapons into crisis regions,” Scholz told the Washington Post on the eve of his White House visit, and pointed to other ways in which Germany was helping Ukraine, including $2 bn in economic aid over seven years.

Earlier on Sunday, Macron spoke Biden for 40 minutes to “share information about contacts made during the weekend” and for “good coordination” ahead of the Frenchman’s mission to Moscow.

The White House said the two leaders discussed “ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts in response to Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders”.