Emmanuel Macron on Monday receives Russian President Vladimir Putin in the south of France to sweep major diplomatic issues ahead of the G7 summit next weekend. The master of the Kremlin is expected at Fort Brégançon, residence of the French president in August, around 16 hours. After statements to the press, the two leaders, who last saw each other at the Osaka G20 in late June, will discuss the various crises that are shaking the world.
With this meeting, Emmanuel Macron is trying to tie Vladimir Putin into multilateralism and the debates that will animate the next G7 summit, a forum that has excluded Russia since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea. The dialogue "is necessary with this big neighbor that is Russia", according to a source of the French presidency, while Moscow, which has complicated relations with the Western countries, is unavoidable in several hot international issues.
>> READ ALSO - With the visit of Vladimir Putin at Fort Brégançon, "Emmanuel Macron strengthens his game" before the G7
A necessary dialogue
Libya, Iran, Syria and Ukraine will be the main crises on the menu of this "working visit". In Ukraine, the rise to power of President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen by Paris as an opportunity to move towards a settlement of the conflict around pro-Russian separatist provinces of Ukraine.
"The main subject will obviously be to revive the Minsk agreements" for peace in eastern Ukraine, said Alexander Baunov, an analyst at the Carnegie Center. "The main promise of the new Ukrainian president is to put an end to the war, Vladimir Putin is ready for a revival (peace efforts) if a federal status is granted to Donbass". "There is a real chance for progress, Macron would be happy to end the war in Donbass, to make history like Nicolas Sarkozy with Georgia," the analyst added.
Since 2017, French and Russian have remained in regular contact, without Emmanuel Macron refraining from criticism. "Europe must dialogue with Russia", which must "make efforts", he had summarized in June. "In recent months, contacts in the political field have intensified, contacts in the field of culture and humanitarian are also very intense.In 2020, the holding of the + Russian Seasons + is planned almost in all regions of France", has stressed a Kremlin advisor.