Is it worth keeping the conversation channel open to Moscow?

Emmanuel Macron has called Vladimir Putin four times since the start of the military attack on Ukraine.

Since mid-December 2021, the Frenchman has spoken to Putin a total of 15 times, including more than five hours in the Kremlin.

As a result of the latest talks on Sunday, Putin portrayed the establishment of "humanitarian corridors" from bombed Ukrainian cities to Russia and Belarus as a "personal initiative of the French president".

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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In the Elysée Palace, there was great outrage over Putin's attempt at manipulation on Monday.

"No, no corridors to Russia were discussed," denied the Elysee Palace.

In this way, Putin is trying to reinforce his narrative that Russia is under attack and Ukraine is the aggressor.

President Macron was indignant about Putin's "moral and political cynicism", which he said was becoming "more and more unbearable".

In an interview with TV channel TF1 on Monday, Macron denounced Putin's "hypocritical talk".

"We need a full ceasefire so that humanitarian organizations can step in and bring children, women and men to safety and escort them out of the conflict zone," Macron said.

It is deeply hypocritical to suggest bringing people to Russia.

"Raising the Price of War"

France is determined to inflate "the price of war" for Putin.

This is now seen as the only promising lever to influence Putin's war calculations.

This alone justifies staying in touch with Putin.

The talks should also "document" how international law and, above all, the aspect of protecting the civilian population and access to aid organizations is being dealt with.

In Paris, one alludes to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, even if one cannot document what is happening at the theater of war oneself.

“We see the same images of bombings on civilians.

We know that the city of Kharkiv is being violently besieged and heavily bombed.

We know that Mariupol is being surrounded and bombed.

We know that in some neighborhoods of Kyiv there is fierce fighting and the city is being encircled," the Elysée said.

Putin's attitude in the phone calls is described in Paris as "unchanged".

Putin is determined to achieve his goals in Ukraine, "that's an impression that continues from conversation to conversation."

New sanctions are necessary, according to the Elysée.

The question of gas and oil supplies is central because sanctions on these two points would particularly affect Russia, but also those who are particularly dependent on Russian oil and gas.

It must be clarified whether the strategic reserves are used to control the price increases.

The Elysée Palace has no concerns about short-term energy supplies.

It is more difficult to agree on medium-term plans.

President Macron wanted to discuss a possible expansion of sanctions with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and American President Joe Biden on Monday afternoon.

The exchange with Berlin on this issue is intensive.

Macron, following his talks with Putin, is convinced that a stronger deterrent is needed to prevent him from escalating the war.

Paris considers the use of Russian chemical weapons to be conceivable

In Paris, the urgent need to quickly increase the cost of the war for Russia.

"Our logic remains: We have to increase the costs of the war for President Putin in such a way that he eventually changes his calculations," the Elysée Palace explains.

The faster this happens, the better it is.

The longer you wait, the "harder and more brutal" the war will be.

"The worst is yet to come," is the assessment of the French government.

In the Elysée, it is no longer ruled out that Putin will use chemical weapons.

This risk is currently not proven, "but we know how Russia behaved in other theaters of war, whether on the soil of the Russian Federation in Chechnya, in Syria or via mercenaries in Libya,

in the Central African Republic and currently in Mali,” says the Elysée.

These are reasons why an end to the fighting must be forced quickly.

In Paris, the risk of a nuclear accident in battles over control of nuclear power plants is considered high.

French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins has announced that France will provide Ukraine with "2.5 million doses of iodine" in the coming days.

Macron has called on the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure that nuclear power plants on Ukrainian soil comply with the safety guarantees.

There are significant reasons for concern.

The nuclear power plants are seen by Russia as strategic targets and make it possible to control the supply of electricity, especially in the cities.