Opinion | French President steals Joe Biden's show

By Augustus K. Yeung

"There is no security for the Europeans if there is no security for Russia." French President postulates.

Introduction

In the Western camp, whose words carry more weight, President Biden, or President Macron? What role was the French President playing in Moscow last Monday?

From the following article, we get the impression that the French President Macron was postulating and acting as a mediator in the negotiation as his words came out not as making demands, but instead offering security and understanding--terms of endearment, which pleases Putin.

With the German chancellor playing an "elusive" tactic in Washington, the US is ultimately fighting a lonely battle without the German and the French leaders' blessing, whose solution looks like a pleasing gift to Putin on a plate.

Macron was the First Western Leader to Meet Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready for compromise and would look at proposals put forward by French leader Emmanuel Macron during talks, while still blaming the West for raising tensions over Ukraine. ("Putin 'ready for compromise' after new French proposals". South China Morning Post. Wednesday, February 9, 2022)

Emerging from a meeting in the Kremlin that lasted more than five hours, the two leaders voiced hope that a solution could be found to the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Moscow has amassed tens of thousands of troops on the borders of Ukraine, raising fears that it is preparing a possible invasion of its pro-Western neighbor.

The West has repeatedly warned of "severe consequences" if Russia invades, and Macron was the first major Western leader to meet Putin since the start of the crisis in December.

President Macron's "Ideas Worth Studying,"

Repeatedly thanking the French leader for coming to Moscow, Putin said at a joint press conference on Monday that Macron had presented several ideas worth studying.

"A number of his ideas, proposals…are possible as a basis for further steps," Putin said, adding: "We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone."

He did not provide any details but said the two leaders would speak by phone after Macron met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Macron said he made concrete proposals to address the concerns of both Russia and the West.

There's "No Security for Europeans" if "No Security for Russia"

"President Putin assured me of his readiness to engage," Macron said, adding: "There is no security for Europeans if there is no security for Russia."

The French president said the proposals included an undertaking from both sides not to take any new military action, the launching of a new strategic dialogue and efforts to reviver the peace process in Kyiv's conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in the country's east.

Putin again denied that Russia was to blame for the tensions. "Saying that Russia is acting aggressively is illogical," he said.

"It is not us who are moving towards Nato's borders," Putin said, in reference to alliance deployments in eastern Europe.

The meeting in Moscow came at the start of a week of intense diplomacy over the Ukraine crisis, with US President Joe Biden also hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Monday.

Biden Vows to Shut Down the Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline…

Biden make a categorical vow at the talks to shut down the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe if Moscow sends forces across the Ukraine border as it did during the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"If Russia invades—that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine, again—then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2," Biden told a joint White House news conference with Scholz.

"I promise you," Biden said, "we will bring an end to it."

US officials say Moscow has assembled 110,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and is on track to amass a large enough force—some 150,000 soldiers—for a full-scale invasion by mid-February.

French President Positioned Himself as Key EU Negotiator

Russia insists it has no plans to attack and has instead put forward its own demands for security guarantees. It wants a permanent ban on Ukraine joining Nato and the alliance to roll back its military presence in eastern Europe.

Macron, whose country currently heads the European Union has tried to position himself as the key EU figure in negotiations with Russia.

Germany's new government has come under criticism from Ukraine and some in the United States over accusations that it is not fully engaging with the US-led efforts to push back against Russian military pressure on Ukraine.

Scholz said he and Biden were "absolutely untied," on sanctions against Russia, though he repeatedly avoided mentioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline by name.

Biden Reacted by Sending Fewer than 3,000 Soldiers to Poland

Biden has reacted to the Russian troop build-up by offering 3,000 American forces to bolster Nato's eastern flank, with a batch of the troops arriving in Poland on Sunday.

Britain said on Monday that 350 more troops would be sent to the Polish border and Germany announced that another 350 of its soldiers would go to Lithuania.

While Scholz was in Washington, his foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, was in Kyiv alolng with her Czech, Slovak and Austrian counterparts for a two-day visit. Scholz himself will be in Moscow and Kyiv next week for talks with Putin and Zelensky. (Agence France-Presse. Additional reporting by Reuters)

Conclusion

There is no doubt that both the German and the French are teaming up: The German chancellor was diplomatically playing along with the US president, who alone was talking tough, while his French partner President Macron was in Moscow--postulating and pleasing Putin, who was thankful for his visit.

Ultimately, it's the Europeans practically minding their own business—neutrality on the part of Ukraine, or risk war with Russia. Why should the Americans be meddling from the far end of the earth?

 

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Augustus K. Yeung:

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