Advisor to the Montaigne Institute: The stalemate in the conflict in Ukraine is in Putin’s favor

“The stalemate in the conflict in Ukraine is in Putin’s favor,” former ambassador and adviser to the French Montaigne Institute, Michel Duclou, told Le Monde, urging France and the European Union to step up their strategy against Russia.

“The Americans need to take more risks at the military level and the Europeans at the energy level.”

As for energy, he proposes that the end of the winter season coincide with an embargo on Russian gas and oil, as he notes that the size of the European market makes Russia more dependent on supplies than European customers. of.

Regarding the role of France, he believes that the contact maintained by the President of the French Republic with the President of Russia has now reached its limits, but he believes that France must remain available for any settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. However, in his opinion, the point of no return has been overcome, as even if the crisis in Ukraine ends tomorrow, no one can seriously believe that “we will be able to sit around a table with Russia to discuss peacefully as if nothing had happened. ”

He argues that an absolute priority for Paris is to maintain the emergence of this more “geopolitical” Europe, which was imposed during the conflict, but whose ambitions could, as he notes, be rapidly diminished by the end of this conflict. He does not rule out the possibility that “one day – after Putin – a dialogue with Russia will be possible again”, but considers that the conditions for this are a serious weakening of the Russian giant with a clear setback in Ukraine and a unified Europe”.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ