The meeting at Fort Breganson: how the negotiations went between Putin and Macron in France

At Fort Bregancon, negotiations were held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. Their conversation lasted about 3.5 hours, after which they went to work dinner.

Before the meeting, both leaders shared their expectations with reporters, and also answered a number of questions. So, before the meeting, Vladimir Putin noted the level of development of bilateral relations between France and Russia.

“As for trade and economic relations, they have been growing lately, the volume of trade is growing. True, for the first half of this year there was some adjustment - I think for objective reasons. Although there is a positive element in this - the trade balance is aligned, ”the Russian head of state emphasized.

Macron also noted that he considers Russia a part of Europe. According to him, it is necessary to rebuild the existing relations between Moscow and Brussels.

“I believe in this European concept, I believe that we must rebuild and revise the architecture of trust between Russia and the European Union. France will play its full role in this regard. You know that we have new joint threats, be it the nuclear sphere, be it cybersecurity and so on. We must develop a common agenda and develop common methods for fighting, for resolving these conflicts, ”he said.

Note that the leaders held negotiations relatively recently - during the G20 summit in Osaka, which was held in late June.

“This is not Russia left the INF Treaty”

One of the most important topics that the leaders of the two countries touched upon was the issue of the international security system and, in particular, the situation around the terminated Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). So, Putin recalled that the United States, and not Russia, unilaterally withdrew from the agreement.

“I would like to recall that it was not Russia that unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, we did not withdraw from the Treaty on intermediate and shorter-range missiles. Now on the agenda is the issue of extending the strategic offensive arms treaty START III. We also do not see any initiatives on the part of our American partners, although our proposals are on the table, ”the head of the Russian state said.

In the context of international security, Moscow is also concerned about the fate of the treaty banning nuclear weapons tests and the militarization of outer space, Putin added.

“We would like to even talk in great detail on this subject, I mean to find out France’s position on these crucial issues, including the militarization of outer space,” the Russian president emphasized.

Macron also expressed hope that the leaders would be able to have a constructive conversation, as it was important for Europe to ensure security.

“We have a lot of topics for discussion. Of course, our collective security, disarmament. Decisions were made on the Medium and Short Range Missile Treaty, and now it is necessary to build the future of our common European security. And I hope that we will have a very thorough discussion on this issue, ”said the French president.

It soon became known that the United States conducted flight tests of a Tomahawk-based cruise missile, which violates the INF Treaty - just over two weeks after the agreement expired (August 2).

"We observe constant sorties"

Among other issues on the international agenda, the leaders also discussed the Syrian settlement. Putin noted that at the moment, militants control up to 90% of the territory of the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

“And we are seeing constant sorties from there, moreover, that is especially dangerous, we are seeing the transfer of militants from this region to other regions of the world, and this is an extremely dangerous thing. Attempts were made to attack our air base on Khmeimim just from the Idlib zone, therefore, we support the efforts of the Syrian army to conduct local operations to stop these terrorist threats, ”the Russian president emphasized.

Speaking about Syria, Macron noted that "a lot of work was done", including thanks to humanitarian operations. He expressed concern about the situation in Idlib and noted that, as part of a dialogue with Putin, they will try to develop a time frame for the fulfillment of their obligations on the issue of a Syrian settlement.

“Of course, we will try to develop political, diplomatic, constitutional time frames for fulfilling our obligations. Major work was carried out to mobilize all the players in order to try to achieve stability and reconstruction in Syria, ”said the President of France.

"Inspire cautious optimism"

The Presidents of Russia and France raised the issue of resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Putin noted that he would share with Macron the contents of telephone conversations with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

“I will inform Mr. President about my recent contacts with the elected President of Ukraine, there are some things that can be discussed that inspire such cautious optimism,” the head of Russia said.

And Macron allowed the convocation of the meeting in the "Norman format" within a few weeks. In addition to Russia and France, it includes Ukraine and Germany.

“We must hold a meeting of the Norman Four, provided that tangible results are really achieved, and not a meeting for the sake of meeting. And we will stipulate all the steps that we can take on each side. In a few days, a meeting of our diplomatic advisers will be held in order to prepare the next “Norman meeting” at the highest level, ”said Macron, answering a journalist’s question.

The transformation of the "seven" into the "eight"

It is worth noting that in a few days the G7 summit will be held, at which France presides. As Macron noted, the choice of topics is due to the fact that they will be discussed during the "seven."

“These crises will, of course, be the main topic of our discussion today, since the G-7 summit will be held in France in a few days, during which we will also discuss these topics. That is why I wanted to discuss these topics with Mr. Putin on the eve of this summit, ”he said.

At the same time, the journalist turned to Putin with a question whether the issue of returning the G7 back to the G8, in which Russia participated, would be discussed at a meeting with Macron.

“As for the G7, G8 - I already said, we do not set this for ourselves as an end in itself. We do not refuse any contacts, that’s all, ”said the President of Russia.

In addition, Putin noted that the “space of European culture” extends throughout Russia and that in the future the implementation of the idea of ​​“Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok” may become inevitable.

“What seems impossible today may become inevitable tomorrow. We proceed from this. And I think that if we think about it, we will set ourselves such goals, and they, of course, are strategically very important for Europe, if it wants to remain as the center of civilization, and for Russia, ”the Russian head stressed state.

Journalists asked other questions. In particular, they dealt with protests in Moscow over the prohibition of independent candidates for elections to the Moscow City Duma. Recall that more than 1 thousand people were detained in the course of uncoordinated actions, and criminal proceedings were instituted against some protesters in the case of riots and attacks on law enforcement officials.

Putin emphasized that inadmissible candidates can solve this problem legally - by going to the courts and getting an appropriate solution, while protests should be held in accordance with Russian law.

“No one - neither the authorities, nor any groups of citizens - have the right to violate the current law and bring the situation to absurdity, or to a clash with the authorities. This is a violation of the law, and everyone who is guilty of these violations should be held accountable in accordance with this very Russian law, ”Putin said.