"Being an intermediary power": Macron spoke about cooperation with Russia and the goals of French politics

The mechanism of coordination between Russia and France created for the settlement of the Syrian conflict has already yielded the first results. This statement was made by the President of the Fifth Republic Emmanuel Macron in his speech before the French diplomats in Paris.

"The coordination mechanism set up with Russia at the meeting in St. Petersburg has already yielded the first results, including in the humanitarian aspect," Makron quoted Tass as saying.

The President recalled that the mechanism was created, among other things, for carrying out joint operations with non-governmental organizations in support of the civilian population of Syria. At the same time, according to the French leader, the situation in the Arab Republic remains grave and "causes concern."

"France considers fighting against terrorists, supporting civilians and developing a comprehensive political solution as priorities," Macron said.

He also opposed the fact that Bashar Assad remained in power after the end of the long-standing conflict in the UAR, and added that Paris is concerned about the situation in Idlib. Macron expressed the hope that Russia and Turkey will influence the Syrian authorities in connection with the situation in this province.

"The regime threatens to create a new humanitarian tragedy there and does not show any intention to negotiate. This requires increasing pressure on the regime, and in this regard, I expect a lot from Russia and Turkey, given their role and commitments, "McCron added.

Recall that during the negotiations of Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin in late May, a decision was taken to implement a joint project to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Syria. The first batch of the French humanitarian aid was delivered to the RAU in July by the An-124 Ruslan aircraft of the Russian Civil Aviation Committee, after which it was handed over to the needy.

At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry was warned about the provocation of militants in Idlib in the near future with the use of chemical weapons. According to Igor Konashenkov, the official representative of the Defense Ministry, these actions will lead to a sharp destabilization of the situation in the region and a disruption of the sustained dynamics of the ongoing peace process.

He also stressed that, according to several independent sources, eight containers with chlorine had already been delivered to Idlib by the terrorists of the "Hayat Tahrir ash Shama" ("Jabhat al-Nusra") * and handed over to the militants of the Hizb-at-Turkestan al -Islami. "

Konashenkov also noted that a group of militants who had been trained under the supervision of specialists from one of the British PMC arrived in the provocation area.

"These militants are tasked with imitating the rescue of the victims of chemical weapons in the vestments of the notorious White Helmets," Konashenkov said.

According to him, this operation should serve as an occasion for the US and its allies, including Great Britain and France, to inflict a missile and air strike on a number of objects in Syria.

"We should build our future together"

During his speech in Paris, the French leader also stressed the importance of building a strategic partnership between European countries, Russia and Turkey.

"We can not build and develop Europe in the long term without revising our relations with Russia and Turkey. And this revision should be conducted without any indulgence and naivety, "- said Makron.

According to him, it is difficult to continue negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU, when the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan "is acting with a pan-Islamic project that runs counter to European values." In this situation, McCron believes, it is worth talking about creating a strategic partnership that does not provide for membership in the EU.

"We need to work out the conditions for a strategic partnership both with Russia and with Turkey, because these two powers are important for our collective security. They need to be tied to Europe, because the history of the peoples of these countries was created in conjunction with the history of Europe. And we should build our future together, "the French president stressed.

At the same time, he noted that it was time to "reconsider the European architecture of defense and security" and the countries of Europe must themselves bear responsibility and be guarantors of European security and sovereignty.

"Europe can no longer trust the US to ensure its security. Europe today needs to assume the proper responsibility and guarantee its security, and consequently, its sovereignty. We need to draw all the necessary conclusions from the end of the Cold War ... I advocate that we begin wide-ranging consideration of these issues with our partners in the broadest sense of the word, and consequently, with Russia, "McCron added.

• Reuters
• © Philippe Wojazer

"Our vocation is to be an intermediary power"

Among other things, the French leader called for a renewed initiation of a dialogue with Russia on security issues in cyberspace and space, chemical and conventional weapons, territorial conflicts and protection of the polar zones.

"Steady progress in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, as well as adherence to the OSCE framework ... will be indispensable conditions for the advancement of the dialogue with Moscow. But this should not prevent us from working now at the European level, "the president said.

In addition, the head of the Fifth Republic expressed confidence that France should play the role of an intermediary in various spheres of world relations, including in the settlement of international conflicts.

"Our calling is everywhere to be an intermediary power ... This does not mean that France renounces its own voice, but it should strive to build alliances on this basis ... to create an international order on the basis of humanitarian and universal human interests," said Macron .

At the same time, the French president noted that the foreign policy of the United States has become one of the reasons for the multilateral crisis - the principle of building international foreign economic relations, which allows each country to enjoy privileges in relations with all its partners.

"The imminent threat lies in the crisis of multilateralism. He faced a serious crisis, which beats all our diplomatic efforts, "Macron stressed.

He added that this crisis is linked to Washington's policy, "doubts about the future of NATO, unilateral and aggressive trade policies that almost led to the trade war with China, the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement and the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program."

* "Hayat Tahrir ash Sham" ("Jabhat Fatah ash-Sham", "Front an Nusra", "Jabhat an Nusra") - the organization is recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 29.12.2014.