Moscow, 1 February 2022 (TDI): President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, held a telephonic dialogue with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. To clarify, both Presidents discussed the Ukrainian issue and Russian demand for security guarantees. The exchange took place on January 31, 2022.
The President of Russia reaffirmed that only a principled approach can resolve the situation. More recently, Russian Federation engaged with the West to secure legally-binding security guarantees. Further negotiations will also be held in this regard.
Earlier Telephonic Dialogue
Previously, both Presidents discussed the matter in detail, telephonically. The dialogue took place on January 28, 2022. They exchanged views in the context of US-Russia talks in Geneva along with the NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels.
Accordingly, Russia submitted proposals to the Western leaders during negotiations. In return, they demanded concrete replies in written form. However, NATO and US submitted a written response to Russian Federation on January 26, 2022.
Along these lines, Vladimir Putin told Emmanuel Macron that Russia would study the written responses. After that, they will notify the further action. However, Vladimir Putin stated that these written responses do not address Russia’s fundamental concerns.
These concerns include NATO’s expansion and weapons deployment near Russia’s border. Indeed, these concerns are stated in the signed NATO-Russia Founding Act.
It is pertinent to note that Russia wants NATO’s military capacity to roll back to where they were in 1997. Besides, Russia wants the West to follow the principle of indivisibility of security.
The principle stipulates that no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others. Besides, this principle is enshrined in OSCE and NATO-Russia documents.
In the context of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin stressed the significance of the Minsk agreement. He also emphasized establishing a dialogue policy with Donetsk and Lugansk. Likewise, the special status of Donbas needs some legal capacities.
Subsequently, leaders of the Normandy Format also held a meeting to resolve the Ukraine issue. The meeting took place in Paris on January 26, 2022. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to follow the lines of this format in the future as well.
On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron briefed Vladimir Putin regarding Paris’s viewpoint on the pan-European track. Moreover, both leaders agreed to implement and maintain the JCPOA and noted the Russian-French positions in this regard. Lastly, both leaders agreed to remain in close communication via telephone or in-person meetings.
