Before the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron spoke to each other on the phone several times. The recording of a conversation now shows that it was hardly possible to get in touch with the Kremlin boss in terms of de-escalation.
At the beginning of February, both French President Emmanuel Macron and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) tried to dissuade Vladimir Putin from escalating the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Either at long tables in the Kremlin or by phone.
The recording of a conversation between Putin and Macron on February 20, 2022, four days before the Kremlin chief launched the war on Ukraine, shows how little the Russian president allowed himself to be dissuaded from his plans for an attack. The conversation ended abruptly – because the Russian President was already in the hall to play ice hockey –
French journalist Guy Lagache was allowed to record the phone call that the French President made from his office in the Élysée Palace with his camera. It is now being shown in part as part of a documentary on French television to mark the end of France’s EU Council Presidency.
“You can see for yourself what is happening,” Putin said at the beginning of Macron’s request to assess the tense political situation between Ukraine and Russia. “You and Chancellor Scholz, you told me that President Zelenskyy is ready for a gesture of goodwill, that he has prepared a law to implement the Minsk Agreement.” The agreement was signed in 2015 by the heads of state of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and taken by France to help de-escalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
But in the eyes of Putin, the Ukrainian head of state would have lied about the supposed law. “I don’t know if you heard his statement yesterday saying that Ukraine must get nuclear bombs,” says the Russian president. The fact that Macron’s chief diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, denies this statement in the background does not affect Putin.
In the course of the conversation, the Russian ruler also mentions the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. “I don’t understand your problem with the separatists,” says Putin. After all, they followed their instructions and initiated a dialogue with Ukraine. However, the French President bursts at this statement. “I don’t know where your lawyer studied!” he replies angrily. “I don’t know which lawyer would go so far as to claim that in a sovereign country the law is drafted by separatists and not by a democratically elected government.”
Putin then countered the heated words of his French colleague: The Ukrainian government was by no means democratically elected, but “came to power through a coup d’etat” that would have resulted in many deaths. “Zelenskyj is one of those responsible,” he says.
The fact that the Russian President portrays the Ukrainian government as a terrorist makes Macron doubt Putin’s intention to uphold the Minsk Agreement. The Kremlin boss then jumps out of his skin. “Listen to me carefully. Do you hear me?” he asks, pointing out to the French president that the separatists are actively negotiating with Ukraine. However, Kyiv would not respond. To Putin’s accusation that not enough pressure had been exerted on Ukraine, Macron replies: “But yes, I’ll do everything I can to urge them, you know that.” Too inefficient, judged the president in Moscow.
France’s head of state urged his interlocutor not to allow the military situation to escalate and to keep the “forward-stationed armed forces calm”. In favor of a joint exchange, the political situation must be relaxed. When asked how Putin assesses the military maneuvers, he explains: “The maneuvers are going according to plan.” “That means they’re over tonight?” Macron asks. Russia’s ruler is evasive: “Yes, probably tonight.”
Finally, when the French President is about to discuss a possible meeting between Putin and US President Joe Biden, the Kremlin chief brings the conversation to an abrupt end. “In order not to hide anything from you, I want to play ice hockey now, I’ll talk to you from a sports hall where I’ll start training,” Putin said. “I’ll call my advisors first.”
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