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Presidents Putin, Macron on Monday in Moscow
Photo: KREMLIN POOL/SPUTNIK/POOL/EPA
After consultations with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Moscow, French President Emmanuel Macron sees possibilities for a diplomatic solution to the current tensions in Europe.
"I'm sure we'll get a result," Macron said.
"Even if it's not easy."
In the Ukraine crisis, the peace plan for the Donbass must be implemented “strictly and completely”, Macron said on Tuesday (local time) after almost six hours of talks with the Russian President.
This also requires steps from Ukraine.
The conflict must be resolved so that the European Union and Russia can improve their relations.
"Our duty is to continue working together," Macron said.
In order to guarantee peace and security in Europe, new and innovative solutions for "concrete security guarantees" could be created on the basis of existing agreements, said Macron.
Despite different perspectives and interpretations of the past, there are overlaps between Russia and France, for example when creating transparency about the presence of troops and weapon systems.
Putin praises Macron
After the meeting in the Kremlin, Macron made it clear that he had received many answers from Putin to his questions, which he now wants to carry on - this Tuesday first to Kiev for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Macron will then meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin after his return from the USA.
The next few days are crucial for security in Europe, said Macron.
Putin, in turn, said the talks with Macron were useful, substantial and factual.
He commended that his guest brought some suggestions that Russia would support.
But before the public finds out about it, Macron first wants to talk to Zelenskyy and his western partners – and then to call Putin again.
Macron and Putin were visibly relaxed after their meeting.
But there were also critical tones.
For example, Macron complained that Russia had stationed 125,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine.
This means that Russia's neighbors feel threatened.
Putin, in turn, complained that there were an equal number of soldiers on the Ukrainian side.
The country has tried twice to take back the breakaway areas in the Donbass by force.
Putin again criticized that NATO, the United States and the West did not take Russia's concerns about its own security seriously.
And he made it clear that NATO and US weapons on Russia's borders are a danger.
He also emphasized once again that Moscow would not accept Ukraine's admission to NATO without resistance - because then there would be a risk of war over the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
Putin has repeatedly warned against Ukraine's admission to NATO.
He rejected that the alliance was a peaceful defense alliance.
He cited the NATO operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and against Belgrade as examples.
Putin had previously asked Macron to implement the Donbass peace plan.
The Minsk agreements have so far been ignored by the Ukrainian leadership, Putin said.
A dialogue between Kiev and the leadership of the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk is necessary.
"From my point of view, it is obvious that the current authorities in Kiev are on course to dismantle the Minsk agreements," Putin said.
He asked Macron to raise these issues at his meeting with Zelenskyy in Kiev on Tuesday.
The peace plan agreed in 2015 with the participation of Germany and France in the Belarusian capital of Minsk is on hold.
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of violating it.
Conversation is intended to help ease tensions
In the west, reports of the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers in the border area with Ukraine are fearing that the Kremlin is planning an invasion of the neighboring country.
Moscow denies that. It is also considered possible that the Russian side wants to stir up fears in order to persuade NATO to make concessions on demands for new security guarantees.
Macron's intensive mediation in the crisis coincides with the start of the hot phase of the presidential election campaign in France.
Macron has not yet declared his expected candidacy for a second term.
But the visit to Moscow as a crisis manager shouldn't hurt.
Almost at the same time as the talks between Putin and Macron, US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Scholz met in Washington.
Biden said in the direction of Russia that an invasion of Ukraine would mean the end of the controversial German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (you can read more about the meeting between Scholz and Biden in this report).
Macron and Putin had already had three crisis talks on the phone in the past few days.
France currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) was in Kiev for talks on Monday.
ngo/dpa/Reuters