PARIS
\nThere\u2019s still room for diplomacy in the Ukrainian crisis. At least that\u2019s the conviction of French President Emmanuel Macron, who continues to push for dialogue with Russia despite signs pointing to a potential war.
\nHis stance reflects France\u2019s post-World War II tradition of carving its own geopolitical path, refusing to line up blindly behind the U.S. It\u2019s also part of Macron\u2019s domestic political strategy amid campaigning for April\u2019s presidential election, where nationalists are setting the agenda and a war in Ukraine could prove an unwelcome distraction.
\nMacron is preparing to talk Friday with Vladimir Putin, and Macron\u2019s presidential palace hosted marathon talks Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian advisers, the first such face-to-face negotiations since Russia has massed troops near Ukraine in recent weeks.
\nWednesday\u2019s talks among Russian, Ukrainian, French and German advisers appeared to buy all sides more time, as they agreed to meet again in two weeks. But France\u2019s diplomacy-focused strategy complicates efforts by the U.S. and NATO to show a tough, united front against Russia. And experts question whether it will be enough to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
\nMacron\u2019s call with Putin on Friday morning has two goals, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said: \u201cto continue dialogue\u201d and to \u201cpush Russia to clarify its position and the aim of (military) maneuvering.\u201d
\nMoscow has denied it is planning an assault, but it has moved an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine in recent weeks and is holding military drills at multiple locations in Russia. That has led the United States and its NATO allies to prepare for the worst.
\nMacron \u201cis at the heart of efforts towards de-escalation\u201d and will also speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days, Attal said.
\nFrench expert on geopolitics Dominique Mo\u00efsi told The Associated Press that Macron has tried since in power \u201cto reset the relation between France and Russia, and to do it based on a mix of being open and being firm… This is very laudable, but did it work? Will it work this time? That\u2019s the challenge.\u201d
\nEuropean diplomacy has helped cool tensions in the past. Wednesday\u2019s talks took place in the so-called \u201cNormandy format,\u201d which helped to ease hostilities in 2015, a year after Putin ordered the annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula and the Russia-backed insurgency began in eastern Ukraine.
\nSoon after his election in 2017, Macron invited Putin to a meeting in the sumptuous Palace of Versailles, letting him be \u201cvery impressed by the grandeur of France,\u201d according to the Russian\u2019s president\u2019s own words.
\nMacron also invited Putin to his summer residence at the Fort de Bregancon, on the French Riviera, in a rare honor meant to give a boost to peace talks with Ukraine during summer 2019.
\n\u201cMacron has shown extreme confidence in his ability to seduce, to charm world leaders and start with them a dialogue,\u201d Mo\u00efsi said.
\nIt hasn\u2019t always worked. His unlikely bond with Donald Trump early in their presidencies quickly soured. And despite similar world views, relations between Macron and President Joe Biden were deeply damaged by a secret U.S.-Australia-U.K. submarine deal last year that squeezed France out of the market and undermined the 250-year-old alliance between the U.S. and France.
\nMacron said it was a \u201cgood thing\u201d that the U.S. and Russia have resumed talks in recent weeks, but noted he did not see any concrete results. \u201cIt\u2019s because a discussion with Russia is always difficult,\u201d he added, citing his own efforts to establish a personal relationship with Putin.
\nThe French position has two question marks, Mo\u00efsi said: \u201cWill Macron have such power of seduction toward Putin?\u201d and \u201cCan France rally support from a large number of European countries?\u201d
\nCountries that used to be under Soviet influence are particularly worried about Russia\u2019s intentions in Ukraine and want a tougher line.
\nLast June, Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to press EU leaders to hold a summit with Putin. The plan was rejected, notably by the Baltic countries and Poland, amid concerns about meeting with the Russian leader at a time when Europe\u2019s relations with Moscow were so poor.
\nBut Macron has made in recent days a fresh push for such a high-level meeting. He insisted that it wouldn\u2019t disturb ongoing negotiation efforts from the U.S. and NATO.
\n\u201cEach of these channels must be exploited until the end to get Russia back into a process of de-escalation, to get guarantees, and allow us to build a new (European) security and stability order,\u201d he said this week.
\nHe also pressed last week for a new EU security plan to ease tensions with Russia. Some EU partners expressed concerns that this would make things even more complex, and undermine cooperation with the U.S.
\nThe French presidency stressed that Paris is working in close coordination with Washington and EU partners to be ready for a joint response if there were to be a Russian offensive in Ukraine. In such a case, \u201cthere will be retaliation and the cost (for Russia) will be very high,\u201d Macron reaffirmed this week.
\nFrance also expressed its willingness to station troops in Romania as part of a NATO force. France\u2019s defense minister is on a visit Thursday to Romania, which has a border with Ukraine, for talks on \u201cdeepening\u201d defense ties, including in \u201carmaments cooperation.\u201d
\n\u201cNothing that concerns European security can be discussed or decided without the full involvement of Europeans,\u201d French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told EU lawmakers this week. \u201cWe are at the table. We are not simply on the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS There\u2019s still room for diplomacy in the Ukrainian crisis. At least that\u2019s the conviction of French President Emmanuel Macron, who continues to push for dialogue with Russia despite signs pointing to a potential war. His stance reflects France\u2019s post-World War II tradition of carving its own geopolitical path, refusing to line up blindly behind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3439,1303,601,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-241131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-dialogue","9":"tag-emmanuel-macron","10":"tag-france","11":"tag-russia"},"yoast_head":"\n