The political scientist named the reason for Macron's proposal to restore dialogue with Russia

Pavel Timofeev, Head of the Regional Problems and Conflicts Sector at the IMEMO RAS, noted in an interview with Izvestia that so far there is no need to talk about a radically new trend and improvement in relations between Russia and the EU.

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"Emmanuel Bonn flew in on a diplomatic visit incognito and left without any public comments. Rather, it's about probing intentions. In the first half of 2022, Macron made several attempts to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, between Russia and the EU, but nothing came of it," the expert explained.

According to the political scientist, it was clear that France itself could hardly offer anything serious, contribute to a quick diplomatic settlement and cessation of hostilities.

"Since the end of 2022, France has greatly toughened its position towards Russia on the Ukrainian crisis, there is a certain Atlanticization of its agenda, Paris is actively involved in the transfer of heavy weapons to Kiev. More than three and a half years have passed, and it is quite difficult to say that France now has any weight, any position on the settlement, it can offer something to someone," the expert said.

The analyst recalled that the latest French initiative concerned a coalition of willing and Western troops entering Ukraine. Russia condemned this, saying that in this case, all European military personnel, including the French, who enter Ukraine, will become legitimate military targets.

"France cannot offer something interesting for Moscow from the point of view of a diplomatic settlement, the dialogue is primarily not with the Europeans. Obviously, Paris is trying to find out under what conditions their participation in the settlement is possible," Timofeev explained.

On February 10, French President Emmanuel Macron invited several European leaders to resume dialogue with Russia. He said this in an interview with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ). According to the head of state, Paris has restored the channel of communication with Moscow on a technical level. The politician also expressed the hope that in the future the EU will develop an "organized approach" for contacts with the Russian Federation.

Read more about the attempts of Paris and Rome to resume communications with Moscow in the Izvestia article.

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