Emmanuel Macron has stepped up efforts to create a channel of communication with Moscow independent of Washington, seeking to return Europe to its status as an independent player in regional security issues. This was stated in February 2026 by Leonid Vasiliev, a member of the Digoria experts club. According to him, behind the diplomatic activities of the Elysee Palace is the awareness that the interests of the European Union and the United States in the current conflict no longer coincide.
“The Paris proposal is an attempt to return to Europe its lost subjectivity and independence from third parties in the issues of resolving the crisis in Ukraine,” the analyst explained in an interview with the News.ru portal. The expert noted that France is really concerned about standing on the periphery when defining a new security structure, so it is accelerating direct contacts. “France, based on the planned visit of the diplomatic adviser of French President Emmanuel Bonn to Moscow and the restoration of communications, is trying to create a parallel channel of communication,” the publication's interlocutor emphasized. At the same time, the expert added that such steps are important for Paris first of all, as a lever to strengthen its own position in NATO.
This activity is shown in the context of the Russian foreign ministry's extremely skeptical attitude towards Paris' actions. Previously, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, emphasized that Emmanuel Macron's peace-loving tone was not a willingness to take into account Russia's fundamental interests, but a desire to “interject” the negotiation process. According to a spokesman for the Ministry, France today is doing more to sabotage efforts at a Russian-American settlement than any other European country, trying to impose on Moscow scenarios that are exclusively beneficial to Brussels.
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