After meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, Russian president Vladimir Putin may have shown signs that he does not want to further escalate the Ukraine crisis. French president Macron’s comments came later when he arrived in Kiev to meet Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I obtained that there will be no degradation nor escalation,” Macron was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. “We now have the possibility to make these negotiations move forward. I believe for my part that there are concrete, practical solutions that will allow us to move forward,” Macron was quoted as saying during a press conference with Zelensky after his meeting.
Even Russia’s president Vladimir Putin spoke about ‘compromises’ leading many to believe that a peaceful way forward was possible. “A number of his ideas, proposals… are possible as a basis for further steps. We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone,” Putin said earlier on Tuesday.
EU’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell expressed similar hopes on Tuesday. “As long as people are willing to sit at the table and talk, I think that there is a hope for not going into military confrontation,” Borrell was quoted as saying. He further went on to add that it represents ‘an element of detente’.
Similar analysis was made by two experts who spoke to news agency Reuters. Andrey Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, told the news agency that he believes that Putin is in no mood for a conflict. “Of course he sticks to his positions but I’ve not got the impression that he’s in the mood for escalation,” he was quoted as saying. Kortunov highlighted that Putin feels it is legitimate to question NATO expansion and building missile sites near Russia’s borders. He also highlighted that Putin may enter into an arms control dialogue with Washington to address these concerns but he also said that it is unlikely that Putin will let go of its prime demand of not making Ukraine a NATO member.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, said that Russia could press for a revived version of the 2014 and 2015 Minsk peace deals. Lukyanov highlighted that the deal would grant special constitutional status to two east Ukrainian regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – and stymie Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if these two regions decide to form their own security arrangements with Moscow
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