look back on a year of diplomacy between Paris and Moscow

Fifteen days before the Russian offensive in Ukraine, around a table so long that it figured the crisis to come, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine had spoken. For a long time, the French president wanted to maintain the dialogue with his Russian counterpart to first prevent the war, then put an end to it, with little result. But since last September, the connection seems to be broken between Moscow and Paris, there is no longer a phone call between the two heads of state.

“Today is not the time for dialogue”

A time accused of naivety, Emmanuel Macron no longer takes language precautions. “Today is not the time for dialogue because we have a Russia which has chosen war and which has chosen to go as far as war crimes”, he says, hammering that Russia will be defeated. For the French president, there is no doubt that the Russians will return to the negotiating table. Emmanuel Macron still hopes that the relations he has maintained in the past with Vladimir Putin will allow him to take on the role of mediator in the resolution of the conflict.