The media suggest that Macron wants to negotiate with Putin and become a “peacemaker” in Ukraine in order to get a trump card in the presidential elections in April.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the purpose of his visit to Moscow is to prevent a possible invasion of Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with Le Journal du dimanche.

“We will discuss the conditions of de-escalation. You have to be very realistic. We will not receive unilateral gestures (from Russia — Ed.), but it is important not to allow the situation to worsen,” Macron said.

The French President believes that the EU should not abandon the dialogue with Russia.

“Because then we will allow others to speak on our behalf, because of which we will not be able to contribute to our collective security,” he said.

Why Ukraine is important for Macron

The Politico edition drew attention to the fact that Emmanuel Macron was actively interested in settling the Ukrainian issue just on the eve of the presidential elections in France, which will be held in April.

“Macron made a bet by calling himself a world leader who can conclude a peace agreement with Vladimir Putin. If he succeeds, he (Macron — Ed.) will become the hero who prevented the invasion of Ukraine,” the publication notes.

According to journalists, Macron is full of hopes to follow the example of the ex-president of FranceNicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), who successfully mediated the conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.

Political scientist, international relations expert Cyril Bret notes: “You will not win elections with the help of foreign policy, but this (negotiations with the Russian Federation — Ed.) reminds of Emmanuel Macron’s status as an international statesman and allows him to stand out from other candidates even before the start of the election campaign to show that he is able to make France powerful in the international arena.”

“Divide and conquer”

Politico calls Vladimir Putin a master of playing divide-and-rule tactics with Western leaders. According to French officials, Putin told Macron that he was “a good partner in the discussion,” and last week said that the French president was “the only one with whom he can have such deep discussions and who cares about dialogue.”

“Macron has been courting Putin for a long time, but this courtship has not yet brought political dividends. He constantly claimed that Russia is a European country and that he shares Putin’s vision of Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok,” the publication notes.

Civilizational “Russophilia”

Political scientist and writer Nicole Bacharan noted the remarkable depth of France’s sympathy for Russian arguments.

“France is a strange country and in many ways pro-Russian. The idea that we should talk to Russia because it is a big civilization, very common in academic circles,” she said.

The publication believes that Macron demonstrated this civilizational Russophilia in his interview with JDD, when he said that Western countries should understand “the modern traumas of this great people” (Russians — Ed.).

Recall that Scholz and Macron are going to Moscow to meet with Putin: they will talk about Ukraine.