On February 8th, France’s President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kyiv following his official visit to Moscow.

To find out which fruit Mr. Macron’s visits bore, read the European Pravda editor’s article in Ukrainian The Macron Maneuver: President’s Attempt to Be Liked by Putin without Betraying Ukraine.

Although Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been awaiting Mr. Macron’s visit for a long time, until recently its dates had always been postponed. Now, the President of France, who is preparing for the upcoming presidential elections, found himself in a new reality. Although he is still leading the polls, there is no guarantee that he will secure a victory in the second tour. To do it, he must present his voters with a new, convincing, almost trump card-like agenda. Especially since his main rivals are either pro-Russian or zealously pro-Russian.

Mr. Macron had plenty of reasons to strike a deal with Mr. Putin in Moscow or flatter Russia's dictator. And he did precisely the latter. Not only did he visit Mr. Putin first, but he also made sure to stress this fact!

Besides, during the press conference in the Kremlin, both Presidents underscored several times that after the meeting in Kyiv, they would contact each other again to agree on its results.

Although Mr. Macron’s Normandy leadership style is not exactly a source of optimism, so far there is little ground to believe that he sold Ukraine out. 

The negotiations in the Kremlin were nothing short of extraordinary despite Mr. Macron’s attempt to describe them as successful. The two presidents spent six hours behind closed doors. Their press conference lasted for another hour. 

During it, Mr. Putin employed his usual tactic toward opponents, i.e. debasing and demoralizing them. Although he tried treating Mr. Macron as his fellow, he avoided making any concessions whatsoever that would help his "friend" increase his chances of winning the upcoming elections.

Another outcome of Mr. Macron’s voyage is that he divulged the Ukrainian government’s Donbas deal.  During the press conference in Moscow, Mr. Macron acknowledged that the Transition Period bill, which regulates the legal aspects of the de-occupation of Donbas and Crimea, was taken down at Zelensky’s request due to the President's Office’s promise to the Normandy Format’s participants. The Office’s decision to refute this claim publicly seemed to have backfired.

To find out why Mr. Macron’s visit turned out to be quite successful despite the contentious Normandy part of the negotiations, read Mr. Sydorenko’s article The Macron Maneuver: President’s Attempt to Be Liked by Putin without Betraying Ukraine.