While the tension does not fall around a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Emmanuel Macron will go there at the beginning of next week, indicates the Elysee this Friday. An announcement that comes the day after a telephone exchange between the Head of State and Vladimir Putin on Thursday. A third exchange around Ukraine and the “security guarantees” demanded by Moscow.
This trip was envisaged in recent days by Emmanuel Macron, “convinced” of the “need” to have a “direct dialogue” with Vladimir Putin, because “it allows for progress”, we explained at the Elysee. He will meet him on Monday. While the EU seemed to count very little during the first Russian-American discussions on Ukraine, the French president has been trying for weeks to put Europe back in the game, which he has been advocating for years, not without difficulty, ” strategic autonomy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also visiting
The Kremlin also announced on Friday the arrival on February 15 in Moscow of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a week after that of the French president. “The date is set. There will indeed be a visit on February 15 by Mr. Scholz to Moscow, these will be substantial bilateral talks,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. The German Chancellor will travel to Kiev the day before, February 14, before going to the Russian capital to also meet with the Russian President, said government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner.
Germany and France are the two mediators of the conflict in Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists supported by Moscow and whose settlement has stalled after eight years of fighting. The two European leaders want to achieve a general de-escalation of tensions between Russians and Westerners around Ukraine, Moscow having deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to the Ukrainian borders, raising fears of an invasion.
The last meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine dates back to the summer of 2019, when the French president invited him to Fort de Brégançon. The French president was to go see him in Moscow in the spring of 2020 but his visit had been postponed due to the health crisis.
Putin in Beijing
In the meantime, the Russian president arrived in Beijing on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, even as Russia, its anthem and its flag, are officially banned from the Games for business. of doping, and that Russian athletes will compete under the banner of the “ROC”, the Russian Olympic Committee. Putin will be received for lunch by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two powers in particular want to forge closer gas and financial ties.
From Ukraine, there should be little question between the two presidents, the subject having been broached on Thursday, during a meeting between the two foreign ministers, Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov. China expressed “understanding and support” for Russia’s position on its security and relations with the United States and NATO, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops are massed near the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an invasion, which Moscow denies planning. Russia has asked NATO to ban Ukraine’s membership and withdraw from Eastern Europe. The United States and its allies have warned that an invasion would trigger tough sanctions against Moscow.