"Finlandization of Ukraine".

Divergent opinions of the press about the meeting between Putin and
Macron
On Monday, February 7, world leaders held talks on the Ukrainian issue. In Moscow, Emmanuel
Macron held about six hours of talks with Vladimir Putin. And in Washington, German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz spoke with US President Joe Biden.
The international press sometimes has conflicting opinions about the consequences of these events.
Citing French officials, the Financial Times reports that Putin has stepped towards de-escalation in
Ukraine. And the Guardian believes that there was no breakthrough in the negotiations in Moscow.
Putin "left to de-escalate"
French officials say Putin has moved towards de-escalation in Ukraine by promising not to launch
new "military initiatives" and by agreeing to withdraw Russian troops from Belarus after the com-
pletion of joint exercises on February 20. This is reported by the Financial Times.
There was also an agreement between the presidents on a "structural dialogue on collective secu-
rity."
Neither Macron nor Putin explicitly pointed out the existence of such a treaty during a post-negotia-
tion press conference. However, Macron said Putin had assured him that he was ready for a dia-
logue on de-escalation.
Macron says Putin assured him of readiness for dialogue on de-escalation
The French president also said that his goal is to achieve concrete security guarantees for all states
in the region, including Russia, Ukraine and EU members.
Putin again criticized NATO and the West during a press conference.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper that Putin and Macron are "ready to con-
tinue the dialogue" about the French proposals, but these discussions have not yet calmed Moscow.
"All these things need to be coordinated with France's allies in the EU and NATO, primarily with
the United States," Peskov said. "It's too early to talk about anything else.»
"No Breakthrough"
Macron and Putin did not achieve a breakthrough during their meeting in Moscow, writes the
Guardian.
After nearly six hours of talks, Macron warned that the parties needed to work quickly to avoid es-
calation.
However, there were some signs of progress, the publication adds. Without going into details, Putin
said that a number of proposals and ideas from Macron could be considered in order to lay the foun-
dation for the next steps. But he also criticized NATO's open door policy, which he says is benefi-
cial to the US.
It remains to be seen how Macron's diplomacy can satisfy Russia's demands to keep Ukraine out of
the alliance, the paper said.
Scholz 'wasn't as accurate' on Nord Stream 2 as Joe Biden
On the same day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
They became the "only front" on the issue of sanctions against Russia in the event of its invasion of
Ukraine. At the same time, there were disagreements over Nord Stream 2. Biden insisted that the
gas pipeline should be shut down in case of Russian aggression, and Scholz "was not so precise."
"Part of the process is that we don't disclose everything publicly, because Russia might realize there
could be more to come," the German chancellor said.
Putin makes everyone guess
Putin used nearly six hours of talks with Macron to keep the world guessing his intentions, writes
the New York Times.
On the one hand, he responded favorably to Macron's diplomatic ideas. On the other hand, he did
not rule out the possibility of a war with Ukraine if it joins NATO.
"Putin seems to have enjoyed the attention - and signaled that he was ready to stretch the mystery
about his next steps," the newspaper writes.
The Russian leader is an avid geopolitical tactician, so the simultaneous talks in Moscow and Wash-
ington demonstrated his ability to get the West to pay attention to the Kremlin's long-standing com-
plaints about NATO expanding to Russia's borders.
"Finlandization" of Ukraine?
Putin and Macron during talks in 2020
Macron told reporters that one of the topics of negotiations with Putin is the idea of "Finlandiza-
tion" of Ukraine, that is, securing a non-bloc status for it, writes the French Le Figaro.
"Putin wants a profound change in NATO policy. A solution must be found so that this safe space
that is NATO can coexist with Russia. One such option is the prevention of Ukraine joining
NATO," the newspaper quoted the president as saying."
However, he assured that nothing would be done without the consent of Ukraine.
"At present, Vladimir Putin remains the master of the game. In Moscow, military force often over-
powers diplomacy," the newspaper writes.
Another French publication, Le Monde, confirmed that Macron was talking about "Finlandization".

During a press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Macron countered that he
was talking about the "Finlandization" of Ukraine. “I don’t know where you got it (quote – Ed.),”
Macron said.