He persists and signs. Less than a month after a first statement to this effect, before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed on June 3 in the regional press that we should not “humiliate Russia”, arousing strong irritation among our eastern neighbours, particularly aware of the Russian threat. Its stated objective? Not to jeopardize possible negotiations at the end of the war in Ukraine.
But this speech is inadmissible for a good part of the continent. “The president does not seem to measure either the extent of the trauma of the war for the countries of central and eastern Europe, nor the irreducible hostility of Vladimir Putin, tackle Michel Duclos, former ambassador to Moscow and special adviser to the Institute Montaigne: In order not to be humiliated, Russia would have to not be defeated, or even emerge victorious.So when we say “not to humiliate Russia”, these nations mean “not to beat Russia”.
A hundred hours of talks with Putin
It is an understatement to say that the words of the French president went down particularly badly in Ukraine. “Calls to avoid humiliating Russia can only humiliate France”, reacted on Twitter Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “The Russian army can stop burning churches. It can stop destroying cities. It can stop killing children if one person in Moscow just gives this order. And the fact that there is not yet such an order is obviously a humiliation for the whole world”, added Volodymyr Zelensky, in a thinly veiled allusion to his French counterpart.
Emmanuel Macron’s position – according to him, France must play a role of “mediator power” in this conflict – is all the more difficult to digest in the East than the discussions between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine – a hundred hours since December according to the estimates of the French leader – have so far come to nothing.
The time for negotiation will probably come one day, but by anticipating it too much, France is actually playing into the hands of the Kremlin, which only understands the law of the strongest. “There are times when you have to know how to be quiet,” says the diplomat Duclos. Everyone wants the war to stop, of course. But Paris – wrongly no doubt – gives the impression of being ready to accept a ceasefire at the cost of a balance of power favorable to Russia.”
The Elysée can however hardly be accused of complacency towards Moscow. Emmanuel Macron says he told the head of the Kremlin that he was making a “historic error”; pledged to increase its financial and military support to Ukraine – six Caesar guns have already been sent; and explained without ambiguity that he wanted to work with Europe to preserve the “territorial integrity” of this country. Why in this case does he take the risk of burning his political credit with Ukraine and many of our partners?
To make matters worse, the newly re-elected president has still not been to kyiv, unlike, for example, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, such a move would have enormous symbolic significance for the Ukrainians, who are losing “60 to 100 men” per day in the Donbass against the Russians, according to Zelensky’s estimates.
At a time when an entire people needs signs of solidarity, did President Macron also need to declare before the European Parliament that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union would take “decades”? And his Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, to drive the point home, by evaluating the waiting time at “15 or 20 years”. Again, kyiv did not understand. Ukraine expects support from us against the Russian aggressor, both materially and morally. Yes, there really are times when you should know how to be quiet…