The words of goodwill are there, it remains to be seen whether the actions will follow. Vladimir Putin said he was ready to “compromise” and to consider French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposals to defuse the crisis around Ukraine, while again accusing Westerners of threatening Russia.
The Russian head of state has thus drawn up his usual indictment of NATO and Ukraine, accused of threatening his country and peace on the European continent by refusing to put an end to their policies, according to him. , anti-Russian. He has not said a word about his plans for the tens of thousands of Russian soldiers still camped on the borders of Ukraine and who raise fears of an invasion.
Without revealing the content of the proposals discussed, Putin nevertheless said that “some of the ideas” of his French counterpart could “lay the foundations for common progress”, after more than five hours of discussions. He thanked him several times for this.
Freezing military initiatives on both sides
“President Putin assured me of his readiness to commit to this logic and of his desire to maintain the stability and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, said Emmanuel Macron, who wants to “build concrete guarantees of security” for all the States involved in the crisis.
During their joint press conference, Vladimir Poutine declared that he would speak again to the French president who must speak Tuesday in Kiev with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. “We will do everything to find compromises that can satisfy everyone,” said the master of the Kremlin, because a Russia-NATO war “would have no winner”.
According to the French Presidency, the French Head of State’s proposals relate to a commitment not to take new military initiatives on either side, the start of a dialogue, particularly on the Russian military system or even peace negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine and the beginning of a strategic dialogue.
Diplomatic Ballet
The French president is the first high-profile Western leader to meet Vladimir Putin since tensions escalated in December. The trip is part of a series of European diplomatic efforts this week and next.
On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron will see Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, then he will travel to Berlin to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz there. The latter will just return from Washington and will in turn be on February 14 and 15 in Moscow and Kiev.
Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, once again denounced the Western refusal to give in to him on the end of NATO’s enlargement policy and the withdrawal of its military resources from Eastern Europe, while denying that he was threatening Ukraine. “To say that Russia is behaving aggressively is illogical,” he said, “we are not the ones heading towards NATO borders.”
Once again, he accused Ukraine of being solely responsible for the deadlock in the peace talks in the conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists, sponsored by Moscow despite denials from the Kremlin.
Ukrainian “coolness”
He allowed himself a joke addressed to the Ukrainian president, who was critical of elements of the peace plan negotiated in 2015 between Kiev and Moscow via Franco-German mediation. “Whether you like it or not, my pretty, will have to endure,” said Putin. Macron came to the rescue of his Ukrainian counterpart, praising “his composure”, and noting that the presence of the Russian army at his door was enough to make him “nervous”.
Russia already annexed part of Ukraine in 2014, the Crimean peninsula, and is considered the instigator of the conflict in the east of the country. After rejecting Putin’s demands on NATO in January, the West offered talks on Russian concerns, evoking reciprocal visits to military sites or even disarmament measures. “Positive” but “secondary” proposals, according to Moscow. Putin nevertheless promised an answer.
Both Americans and Europeans warned Russia that a new attack on Ukraine would result in devastating economic sanctions. Receiving Chancellor Scholz, the American president promised on Monday that an offensive would mean “the end” of the strategic but controversial Russian-German gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2. United States and Germany are “absolutely united” on the sanctions to be imposed on the Russia, assured Olaf Scholz, but he took care not to mention Nord Stream 2 and judged that it was not necessary “to put on the table” from the outset all possible reprisal measures.
The United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have also sent military reinforcements to Europe. American intelligence judges that Russia had 70% of the device necessary for a large-scale offensive in Ukraine.