... Ambassador of France to Russia, Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, met with Pierre Vimont, Special Envoy of the President of France for the Development of Relations between the European Union and Russia, and Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to Russia.... ... focused on the results of the Norman Four meeting held in Paris and possible further steps to resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine. The participants also touched upon a wide range of issues in relations between Russia and the European Union, including ...
... and Dmitry Trenin, RIAC Member, Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, had a meeting with the group of French diplomats to discuss the upcoming Norman Quartet Summit taking place on December 9, possible progress in resolving the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, prospects for bilateral cooperation between Russia and France, as well as relations between Russia and the countries of the European Union.
The discussion was moderated by Sylvie Bermann, Ambassador of France to Russia.
... change of power in Kiev opened a narrow window of opportunity for cautious movement forward on Donbass. The new president of Ukraine intends to resolve the issue. His initiatives have received cautious support in Moscow. As a result, the sides achieved ... ... necessary to look for compromise with due account of Mike Pompeo’s 12 items that are unlikely to disappear any time soon. France forwarded a proposal that does not sound unequivocal but is quite suitable for discussion and bargaining: the JCPOA must ...
... making the EU foreign policy, especially on the eve of the forthcoming G7 summit and the Normandy Group summit-level meeting; France will host both gatherings this time. For Putin, the trip to Paris is yet another demonstration that Russia is not isolated ... ... X”, while the latter is a baby-boomer. I can imagine that for Macron it is easier to communicate with Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine, who belongs to the same age group as Macron. However, the age difference does not necessarily exclude positive chemistry ...
... Center for Post-Soviet Studies, MGIMO University, made speeches. The French side was represented by Jacques Faure, former French Ambassador to Ukraine, and Celine Marange, Research Fellow at the French Ministry of Defense research institute (IRSEM, France). Among other issues, Russian and French experts discussed the economic situation in Ukraine, the humanitarian aspects of the settlement, the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the role of international players. The discussion was moderated by Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs.
The event was attended by representatives ...
... new strategic context, Germany’s Russia policy has to take on responsibility beyond its immediate neighbourhood — as in Ukraine — for international conflicts that involve Russia. This does not mean that relations between Germany and Russia fall ... ... at taking on more responsibility. How a responsible international Russia policy might look like is demonstrated right now by France’s president: a clear stance towards Russia in Syria and in questions of domestic meddling while at the same time continuing ...
... Eurasia.
To conclude, France keeps an objective point of view on the conflict. Its only aim is the resolution of the conflict and the protection of the integrity of the territory of Ukraine and of its citizens. If it advocates European values in Ukraine, France is not in favour of the integration of Ukraine into the European Union for the time being. It wants Ukraine to be able to decide on its foreign policy, and wish for an increased cooperation between the three players.
... RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov, IMEMO Director Academician Alexander Dynkin and Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, visited the Embassy of France to meet with Head of Continental Europe Department at French Foreign Ministry Florence Mangin for the discussion of Ukraine settlement, implementation progress of Minsk accords, Syria and initial results of the Vienna process on Syria, Moldova, and opportunities for interaction between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Moderated by French Ambassador to Moscow ...
... the crisis?
France and French leaders are paying considerable attention to Ukraine and joined Germany at the top and foreign minister levels to handle the issue. Recently French Foreign Minster Laurent Fabius participated in contacts between Russia, Ukraine and EU leaders.
France does not want to get too deeply involved in the Ukraine crisis, since it is short on resources and levers.
Yuri Rubinsky
France is not ready to go out on its own, and its domestic political environment is also quite tricky.
France's stance is ...
... choice’.
First, Ukraine has been and remains a European state, which does not in any way impede the development of extensive links with the states in other regions: this is what everybody does in the era of globalization.
Second, the question of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union is not even on the long-term agenda: the European Union seems to have reached its geographical limit; at least this is what many people in France believe.
Third, the kind of financial support that that Central European countries once received from the European Union now belongs to the realm of fantasy, as there are simply no resources for that today. Some economic aid will of course come ...
