On a visit likely to shape Russia-France ties for years, French
President Emmanuel Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the
sumptuous Palace of Versailles on Monday for what the newly-elected
French leader said would be “demanding” talks on Syria, the Ukrainian
crisis and other thorny issues driving the rift between Russia and the
West.
The leaders’ first handshakes — relatively brief and
cordial — after Putin climbed out of his limousine at Versailles were
far less macho than Macron’s now famous who-will-blink-first handshake
showdown with President Donald Trump when the two leaders met for the
first time last week.
Monday’s visit offered Putin and Macron a
chance to reset a relationship that got off on a less-than-ideal foot
during Macron’s presidential campaign. Macron had strong words for
Russia in his race for the presidency, saying France and Russia don’t
share the same values. Putin bet — wrongly — on Macron’s far-right
opponent Marine Le Pen, hosting her at the Kremlin in March, before
Macron then handily beat her.
Macron is the first Western leader
to speak to Putin after the Group of Seven summit over the weekend,
where relations with Russia were a key topic.
The Kremlin hailed
the visit as a chance for Putin and Macron to get to know each other and
better understand their views on a range of disputed issues, including
the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and Russia’s ties with the
European Union.
During his G-7 news conference on
Saturday, Macron promised to have a “demanding dialogue” with Russia,
especially on Syria. He called it a failure that European nations were
not involved in the talks over Syria’s future but were being hit by the
effects of that crisis, including the huge number of Syrian refugees
trying to get to Europe.
“We must talk to Russia to change the
framework for getting out of the military crisis in Syria and to build a
much more collective and integrated inclusive political solution,”
Macron declared.
Macron’s invitation for Putin was a surprise
after his tough stance on Russia during the French election. Macron’s
aides also claimed that Russian groups launched hacking attacks on his
presidential campaign. Moscow strongly denied all allegations of
election meddling.
Monday’s
visit offers both sides an opportunity to improve ties that steadily
deteriorated in the closing months of the presidency of Macron’s
predecessor, Socialist Francois Hollande.
“As a person who pays
utmost attention to personal contacts, Putin believes that only a
one-on-one meeting could give answers to many questions about Macron as a
person and as president of France, as well as his future foreign policy
course and his stance on Russia,” Tatyana Stanovaya of the Center for
Political Technologies, an independent Moscow-based think-tank, wrote.
In
October, Putin abruptly shelved a trip to Paris after Hollande alleged
that Russia could face war crime charges for its actions in Syria.
Hollande also refused to take part in the opening of the newly built
Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris and was only
interested in talking with Russia about Syria.
Later Monday,
Putin is to visit the center near the Seine River that includes the Holy
Trinity Cathedral. The site was sold to Russia under former President
Nicolas Sarkozy amid criticism from rights groups.
After
their talks at Versailles, Putin and Macron will tour an exhibition
there marking the 300th anniversary of Russian Czar Peter the Great’s
trip to Paris that was prepared by St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum.
With
Peter the Great widely seen as a ruler who modernized Russia and sought
to open it up to the West, the exhibition offers a symbolic backdrop
for both to talk about the importance of Russia-France ties.
Putin’s
foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Russia was dissatisfied
with the current level of political contacts and that the meeting “is
very important for both Russia and France.”
Ushakov said he
expects an “interesting discussion” on ways to implement a 2015 Minsk
deal for eastern Ukraine, which was brokered by Germany and France. The
U.S. and the EU have made the prospect of lifting economic and financial
sanctions against Moscow contingent on fulfilling the peace agreement.
The
deal has helped reduce the scale of fighting between Ukrainian forces
and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but clashes have
continued and political elements of the agreement have stalled. Ukraine
and Russia have blamed one another for the fighting that has left some
10,000 people dead.
Ushakov said that the two leaders will also
have a “frank” discussion on Syria, where Russia has backed Syrian
President Bashar Assad and France has pushed strongly for his removal.
He added that last week’s suicide attack on Manchester Arena emphasized
the need to pool efforts in the fight against terrorism.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged European Union nations to stick
together in the face of emerging policy divisions with the U.S.,
Britain’s decision to leave the bloc and other challenges. Merkel also
stressed the importance of being good neighbors “wherever that is
possible, including with Russia, but also with others.”
Human
rights activists protested Monday in Paris over the situation of gays in
the Russian republic of Chechnya, holding a banner “Stop homophobia in
Chechnya” near the Eiffel Tower.
No comments:
Post a Comment