French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of his priorities for a ceasefire. But he stressed that Moscow must meet some conditions since he values diplomacy to iron out problems compared to some leaders.
Russia's Relevance to Europe
President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he would not rule out planning to visit Russia and meet with President Vladimir Putin, but if certain criteria are met, reported RT.
Paris supports Ukraine, and although measures should be taken to lessen the conflict's tension, he spoke to TF1 TV on Friday while visiting Kyiv. He also asserted that he intends to keep talking to the Russian president about combating human trafficking like food security, citing The Press United.
The French leader's policy of keeping in contact with Russia has been questioned, but he considers diplomacy the best way to deal with Putin.
Macron would meet his Russian counterpart, but it will be dependent on how the Kremlin acts on it first. There is no expectation of how Moscow will take certain ideas, but a meeting should carry weight for the EU. Macron stressed that flustering Putin should not be done, especially his attitude towards Ukraine.
French leader Macron indicated that France made the same mistake as Germany after WWI, adding that he did not want these hostilities to spread out further.
Kyiv was asked to return to the bargaining table and restart talks with Moscow earlier this week. The president proposed that France act as a facilitator and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has no choice but to negotiate with Russia.
Conflict Effect on Economic Security
Any conflict with Russia will not be good for the long-term security of Europe. Last Friday, gas and food prices in France were getting expensive due to the Ukraine conflict. Macron added the need to make exceptional decisions in such challenging times.
Macron visited Ukraine last Thursday together with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on an official visit. During the visit, he mentioned that he was for Ukraine's EU candidacy status, per Hi India.
Moscow said the four leaders should tell Kyiv to stop the fighting, declaring that Ukraine could not prevail and would pay with people's misery and destruction.
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in late February in reaction to Kyiv's failure to enforce the conditions of the 2014 Minsk agreements and Moscow's ultimate acknowledgment of the Donbas republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Since then, the Kremlin has kept demanding that Ukraine proclaim itself a neutral country that will never participate in the US-led NATO defense pact.
Ukraine maintains that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and tries to deny that it meant to take back the two republics by force.
President Emmanuel Macron believes he can get through to President Vladimir Putin, but he's only one of a few EU leaders inclined to end the conflict, which is not enough.
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