'..there was no question of Macron going rogue and stressed that he had the full blessing of other world leaders after a flurry of calls over the past week.
Macron will ask Putin to pull back troops from the Ukrainian border, and also suggest halting military activities in the Black Sea, Belarus and in the seas near Scotland. “We think that across all of this, there are elements that Vladimir Putin can moderate so that the allies will see this as a signal, and that there’s a de-escalation,” an Elysée adviser said ahead of his visit.
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Still, Paris denies it is naive when it comes to Russia, and insists it is fully alive to Moscow’s belligerence.
“We have often faced disappointments,” said Sellal. “I think Macron is coherent and has backed tough responses such as the sanctions over Crimea. And he has never asked for the preparation work on [new] sanctions to be stopped.”''In a newspaper interview before leaving for Moscow, Macron struck an accommodating line toward Putin. He told the Journal du Dimanche that it was “legitimate” for Russia to raise its own security concerns and insisted that Putin’s ultimate goal was not to conquer Ukraine but to recalibrate its relations with NATO and the EU. Macron said European countries needed to strike a “new balance” while respecting Russia’s security concerns, though he was vague about what any of that meant.
He also suggested Russia would not move alone, intimating Western countries would have to offer up something in any deal. “We have to be very realistic. We will not obtain unilateral moves, but it is essential to avoid a deterioration of the situation,” he said in the interview.
..Macron in his JDD interview said Western countries needed to understand the "contemporary traumas..".
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Indeed, the Elysée said that eastern Ukraine would be on the agenda and noted that Putin wanted to see progress on the Minsk agreements. Still, Macron’s staff also insisted that there was no question of Macron going rogue and stressed that he had the full blessing of other world leaders after a flurry of calls over the past week.
Macron will ask Putin to pull back troops from the Ukrainian border, and also suggest halting military activities in the Black Sea, Belarus and in the seas near Scotland. “We think that across all of this, there are elements that Vladimir Putin can moderate so that the allies will see this as a signal, and that there’s a de-escalation,” an Elysée adviser said ahead of his visit.
..
Still, Paris denies it is naive when it comes to Russia, and insists it is fully alive to Moscow’s belligerence.
“We have often faced disappointments,” said Sellal. “I think Macron is coherent and has backed tough responses such as the sanctions over Crimea. And he has never asked for the preparation work on [new] sanctions to be stopped.”
..
Macron also plans to discuss the “new European security order” with Putin, which should enable the EU “to play its role” in managing crises in the Continent and talking to Russia, the Elysée said on Friday.'
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Macron heads east on risky peacemaker mission, February 6, 2022
Context'Emmanuel Macron to visit Russia..' - (Alliance) Ukraine links arms with Turkey, Poland and UK'..a dramatic misunderstanding of what The West stands for, what NATO is there for and such like.' - 'EU Says It's In 'Deterrent Mode' With Russia..''A critical examination of U.S. policy misfires in dealing with Russia and its intentions and capabilities over the past several decades is long overdue..''..effective counter-intelligence services, proper oversight over the flow of funds and serious policing of corruption at home, media awareness for a new generation of citizens .. to increase the effectiveness .. of existing political structures.'(Russia) - '..the wounds inflicted by the Soviet experiment have never healed..'