Macron meets with Putin, leading Europe’s diplomatic efforts to diffuse Ukraine crisis

As the United States As Putin tests the West’s resolve, Macron has thrust himself to center stage, taking Merkel’s place as leading mediator for Europe as he readies himself for a re-election bid at home. Currently at the helm of the European Union’s rotating presidency, Macron has spoken several times per week with Putin, and placed his third phone call in a week to Biden on Sunday evening. According to a statement from the Elysee Palace, Macron and Biden agreed Sunday to capitalize on the “positive progress” made in the Normandy Format — a grouping of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia — to bolster the Minsk agreements, a ceasefire protocol signed by Ukraine and Russia in 2015 after Russia annexed Crimea and fomented a rebellion in Ukraine’s east. Despite the agreement, the two sides have not seen a stable peace.The French president, who in 2019 said bluntly that Europe was facing the “brain death of NATO,” caused by American indifference to the transatlantic alliance, and has called on the EU to take on a larger role in Europe’s defense, is now getting a chance to lay out his vision for what a Europe more independent from US influence might look like.To Moscow, Macron has presented himself as a “quality interlocutor,” as Putin described him, according to an official in the French presidency. The official told reporters Friday that among Macron’s agenda for the talks was to try to balance “the new order of security in Europe, including guarantees of regional security and the role and capacity of the European Union in taking charge of its own security,” alongside his commitments to the US and NATO.The stakes could not be higher. Macron is seeking to stop the massive Russian military buildup of more than 100,000 soldiers from bubbling over into war and soothe Russia’s security grievances, which include demands that Ukraine and Georgia be blocked from ever becoming members of the alliance and a drawdown of troops in the region. “I’m reasonably optimistic but I don’t believe in spontaneous miracles,” Macron told reporters on the flight to the Russian capital, according to CNN affiliate BFM TV, which was traveling with the French president.Moscow, on the other hand, had been more cautious about the planned meeting. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Monday the Russian government had seen “nothing new” in response to its security demands.”For now, the atmosphere remains extremely tense,” Peskov added.CNN’s Joseph Ataman and Camille Knight in Paris contributed to this report.