[Putin Macron Red Square stroll, Russia and France have their own needs]
Macron made a special trip to Moscow on February 7 to meet with Putin, which was also his first visit to the Kremlin after the situation between Russia and Ukraine was further tense. The two leaders attended a joint press conference together after nearly five hours of talks.
Putin said at a news conference that he hoped that the situation on ukraine's border would eventually be resolved peacefully, and he saw no alternative to the existing Minsk peace agreement to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He pointed to some of Macron's proposals on security issues as pragmatic and said he and Macron would discuss it again after his meeting with the Ukrainian leadership.
Putin said: "Some of his (Macron's) ideas and suggestions, although it may be too early to discuss now, (but) I think it is likely to become the basis for further discussion between the two sides." ”
Knocking on the blackboard: In the context of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis that has not been lifted, French President Macron took the initiative to visit Russia, held talks with Russian President Putin for more than 5 hours, and also shared dinners and "walks along Red Square", although not hand in hand, but also side by side, so why are the two so ferromagnetic?
For Macron:
First, choosing this time to meet with Putin is obviously to "add points" to the upcoming election. Macron wants to establish the image of "messenger of peace, savior of Europe";
Second, in order to adhere to the concept of "European strategic autonomy". Not long ago, Macron said that NATO has been "brain dead", and once war breaks out between Russia and Ukraine, then the European Union will certainly be forced to turn to the United States and beg for protection from the United States. Against this backdrop, Macron certainly hopes to de-escalate the situation. Macron knows that to ease the situation in Russia and Ukraine, only by constantly saying "justice" to Russia, he said, "Russia must be respected" and must "understand the trauma suffered by this great country.".
For Putin, there are two reasons:
First, on the Ukraine issue, Russia has a tactical advantage, but a strategic disadvantage, and Russia needs to ease the situation. Why? Because of Russia's military strength, there is no problem in taking Wudong directly or even taking Kiev, but after this, it will inevitably face a more difficult international environment, and Russia's national economy will face the possibility of collapse. Therefore, the United States has been encouraging Ukraine to provoke Russia, or to make up the pretext of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and start a war. Although Russia sees through this, it suffers from no steps and cannot save all its face.
Second, France has always advocated European independence and self-determination, so there are differences between Europe and the United States, and if Russia amplifies France's international influence more, it will undoubtedly tilt the balance of the European and American game to the core countries of Europe, which will help to alienate European and American relations and conform to Russia's strategic interests.
