EXCLUSIVE: Macron phoned Putin 60 times before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
What on EARTH were they talking about?
Montage © Facts4EU.Org
The Facts4EU team has accessed the Kremlin’s records and can reveal some disturbing facts
From Emmanuel Macron’s election in May 2017 up until the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the French President spoke 60 times on the phone with President Putin. Not one of these calls stopped Putin from invading.
This compares with only five times in the same period, for the UK's PMs Theresa May and Boris Johnson COMBINED.
Even more worryingly, from the first night of Putin’s invasion up until last week, Emmanuel Macron has spoken on the phone to the Russian president 14 times.
This compares with zero times for the United Kingdom's PMs, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Contact has been made through diplomatic channels and via public statements, but Putin was not afforded the compliment of a personal phone call.
In association with CIBUK.Org, we bring you the facts.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
Shootin' the breeze with Putin
1. Phone calls with Putin since Macron was elected, up to the start of the war
- Macron : 60
- May : 1
- Johnson : 4
[Source : The Kremlin]
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge
2. Phone calls with Putin since the war started
- Macron : 14
- Johnson : 0
- Truss : 0
[Source : The Kremlin]
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge
Note: We have excluded calls where Putin called to congratulate the relevant leader on winning an election, or on celebrating France’s Bastille Day, or on commiserations after a terrorist attack.
What the Elysée Palace says about this
Facts4EU.Org checked the records of the Elysée Palace and found only six calls mentioned since the start of the war. One notable absence is the call Emmanuel Macron made to Vladimir Putin on the night Russian troops invaded Ukraine. This took place at 11.30pm, according to the Kremlin.
Whilst the Elysée Palace is silent on this, here is what the Kremlin says.
Late night call from Macron to Putin on the night Putin invaded
“During a telephone conversation held at the initiative of the French side, Vladimir Putin and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron had a serious and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin gave an exhaustive explanation of the reasons for and the circumstances in which the decision to start a special military operation was made. The parties agreed to stay in contact.”
- Macron call to Putin, 11.30pm, 24 Feb 2022 (invasion night), according to the Kremlin
It seems clear that Macron felt bitterly let down by the Russian President after he had made 60 calls to him since becoming French President. The last pre-war call was at 9pm on 21 February, just three days before Putin invaded Ukraine.
When a call is described as “a serious and frank exchange”, this is diplomatic-speak for a blazing row. Perhaps this is why it is one of the calls which the Elysée Palace failed to list.
It must also be remembered that for all of the 60 calls from Macron to Putin since Macron's election until the start of the latest war, Putin had already invaded Crimea - part of Ukraine - in 2014. Since Putin came to power in 1999 he has been engaged in a constant programme of imperialist enlargement of Russia by force. It has been clear for over 20 years that his ambition is to create another Soviet Union. Readers will have heard of his invasions of Chechnya and Georgia, but there are others and the series of conflicts ordered by Putin have been constant. His was already a pariah state.
National leaders do not usually have time for many international calls
Calls between heads of state require preparation by officials and do not happen often. Except, it seems, in the case of President Macron calling President Putin.
Not only has Emmanuel Macron called the Russian leader 14 times since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, he also flew to Moscow to talk to Putin in person. The Russian President clearly relished the PR opportunity, as can be seen from the official Kremlin photo below.
© Kremlin 07 Feb 2022 - click to enlarge
The question must be asked, however. Does the orchestration of this meeting involving Macron, obviously decided upon by Putin, not look entirely bizarre?
For readers who would like to know more about Vladimir Putin
The Public Broadcasting Service in the US (PBS) is available on Freeview, Sky, and other providers. Like the BBC, they often broadcast documentaries which are – shall we say – from a certain media perspective which will be familiar to readers who watch the BBC.
Nevertheless, the following PBS documentary may be very informative for readers of Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org.
Observations
Emmanuel the Appeaser vs. Vlad the Invader
When dealing with a normal international dispute with a normal foreign leader, President Macron’s repeated phone calls to President Putin might have been seen as a worthy enterprise to avoid conflict.
When dealing with an increasingly deranged and desperate Russian despot, however, this is not the case. Putin will have only seen Macron’s constant calls in one way – as a sign of weakness from the second-largest country in the EU.
For Macron - an otherwise intelligent man - to think he could somehow ‘talk Putin down’ was naïve in the extreme. Years of working for global merchant banks had obviously not equipped the French President with sufficient understanding of who he has been consorting with.
It is not often that we would believe the Kremlin, but the record of phone calls is clear and the question must be: why would the Kremlin invent calls that never took place? They have nothing to gain as they never publicised these.
In the end, all of President Macron’s efforts to cosy up to Putin were in vain, as we could have told him before he embarked on his massive charm offensive.
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[ Sources: The Kremlin | The Elysée Palace | PBS ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 29 Sept 2022
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