Macron is preparing to break the ice in relations between Russia and the European Union
In Paris, they are ready to accept the proposal of the Russian authorities for the arrival of President Emmanuel Macron in May next year in St. Petersburg for the International Economic Forum, where he can become the main foreign guest, сообщает “Kommersant”, citing diplomatic sources.
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The publication notes that Vladimir Putin gave his French colleague an invitation to visit the Russian Federation back in May, during their negotiations in Versailles.
According to diplomatic sources in Paris, the decision on Macron’s visit to St. Petersburg has practically been made, but this will not be officially announced yet.
“The reason is purely formal, but quite valid. The presidential elections in Russia will take place only in March, and although we foresee their outcome, it would not be entirely correct to accept the invitation of Vladimir Putin, who has not yet been re-elected, right now,” explained the publication’s interlocutor.
The newspaper recalls that in 2016, at the height of the confrontation between Moscow and the EU over Ukraine, the most prominent European participant at SPIEF was the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who significantly contributed to the fact that the intensity of the confrontation between Russia and Europe decreased.
In turn, an informed interlocutor in the Russian capital, whose competence includes relations with France, believes that by May next year in relations between Russia and the EU countries “a favorable situation will arise in order to melt the ice.”
“First of all, we hope there will be clarity on the situation around Ukraine. Or it will be possible to advance in the implementation of Vladimir Putin’s plan to station UN peacekeepers in Donbass. Or it will become clear that progress is not happening due to the fault of not Moscow, but Kyiv. And therefore, the EU may come to the conclusion that there is no point in continuing pressure exclusively on Russia,” said the publication’s Moscow interlocutor.
He does not exclude that by the end of the second half of 2018, when the EU will again discuss the issue of extending sanctions against Russia for another six months, “by this time supporters of reducing the level of confrontation will have strong arguments in favor of the fact that sanctions are possible if not cancel, then at least soften.”
“In this context, the visit of the French President to St. Petersburg will indicate that Paris, one of the European heavyweights and a participant in the Normandy format, is gradually shifting to the camp of supporters of normalizing relations with Russia. To some extent, Macron will open a window to Europe for her - which is typical, in St. Petersburg. For other EU members, primarily for Germany, this could become an important signal,” the diplomat noted.
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