Macron to Visit Moscow to Restore Image of French leadership
The expert noted that this visit is being preceded by a number of Macron’s conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with three such conversations held over the past week alone
French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Moscow on February 7 to restore his country’s prestige as a European leader. The visit will also help him to secure additional votes in the upcoming election, said Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrey Kortunov.
The expert noted that this visit is being preceded by a number of Macron’s conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with three such conversations held over the past week alone. Each of them, according to the expert, demonstrated “a certain divergence in priorities between Russia and France” with Russia emphasizing security guarantees while the de-escalation around Ukraine is a priority for Macron.
According to the expert, Macron’s active stance on this issue and the quickly arranged visit to Moscow are conditioned by his aspiration to restore France’s prestige as a European leader and ensure voters’ loyalty.
He noted that on the eve of the French leader’s visit to Moscow, the agenda of the Ukrainian settlement had been somewhat activated in the Normandy format (Russia, Germany, Ukraine, France).
Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Staff Dmitry Kozak held a meeting at the level of political advisors of the Normandy Four in Paris at the end of January, and another similar meeting is being planned in Berlin soon, according to the expert.
He expressed confidence that both leaders will touch upon a wide range of security issues at the upcoming meeting. “They may discuss the issues of restoring communication lines between Russia and NATO, including in the military dimension, a corridor of decreased military activity along the lines of Russia and NATO may be discussed, as well as the other aspects of European security,” the expert noted.
At the same time, he reiterated that Macron “still cannot talk on behalf of the North Atlantic Alliance nor on behalf of the European Union, because there are other members and they have their own position.” “Nevertheless, French opinions always have been influential in Europe, so, I think, Moscow should take them with the utmost seriousness. I think, they will be taken into account when determining Moscow’s further course on those issues that will be discussed,” he added, saying that “this meeting is a good sign. The more there are meetings and contacts like this, the more there are chances that it will be possible to get out of the current situation as a result.”.
