Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz travels to Moscow in mid-February – but French President Emmanuel Macron is there before him. After intensive telephone diplomacy, Macron will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early next week. There are many reasons why Macron is so intensely involved in the Ukraine crisis.
Test case for European sovereignty
First and foremost, he sees it as a test case for European sovereignty, which he wants to promote during the French EU Council Presidency. On the other hand, Macron likes to line up with the most influential leaders in the world. With regard to Russia, he seems to want to fill a gap noted by many observers that Germany’s ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel left in international politics – and which, in Macron’s eyes, Scholz is probably not filling.
“Demanding dialogue” with Russia
“There is no security order for Europe if the Europeans are not able to defend themselves,” Macron is convinced. Europe must “find a common solution with all its neighbors, including Russia”. The French President has always emphasized the need for “demanding dialogue” with Russia.
His strategy is to always seek dialogue, while resolutely defending European interests. He has spoken to Putin five times and Zelenskyy three times since December, most recently on Thursday evening.
So far, little concrete has come out of it, but at least Macron has revived a negotiating group together with the Germans, the so-called Normandy format. Russians and Ukrainians sit at a table, mediated by the Germans and French. Last week there was a first meeting at high-level advisors, the first time since 2019. A follow-up meeting is planned in Berlin soon.
Ever since he took office, Macron has repeatedly ensnared Putin: Shortly after his election, he invited him to the magnificent palace in Versailles, later to a meeting in the summer residence Fort de Bregançon with a view of the Côte d’Azur and a French warship on the horizon – a power show that probably didn’t fail to have an impact.
“Never Show Weak”
“We must never show weakness to President Putin,” Macron said at the time. “If someone is weak, they take advantage of it.” That always means addressing conflict issues – be it Russian hacker attacks during the French election campaign, Putin’s relations with the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad or, currently in addition to the Ukraine crisis, the use of Russian mercenaries in Mali.
But Putin also knows how to flatter. The Elysée proudly announced that he could not have such profound conversations with anyone as he did with Macron. Putin had recently shown little interest in European mediation, opting instead for direct talks with US President Joe Biden.
The Europeans didn’t want to put up with that, which is one of the reasons why Macron gets a lot of support in the EU for his initiatives. “Europe must take its destiny into its own hands,” Macron emphasizes again and again. It is not always entirely clear in which role Macron is actually involved.
The French President had already shown a lot of diplomatic zeal when he tried to get US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to meet in 2019 – which he would then have attended. However, it never came to that.
A meeting between Putin and Zelenskyj with Macron and Scholz is not yet foreseeable. But the pictures showing Macron with the two heads of state will still have an impact. After all, Macron is not only doing European politics, but has long been in the middle of the election campaign for his second term. A foreign policy success that sets him far apart from his competitors would be extremely useful.
Source: Nachrichten
