Macron is ‘bidding to team up with China for secret Ukraine peace plan that will bring Zelensky and Putin to the table by the summer’
- Macron has strategy to see peace talks between Russia and Ukraine by summer
- French president has been accused of getting cosier with Beijing following visit
Emmanuel Macron is understood to be bidding to team up with China in hopes of bringing Russia and Ukraine to the table for peace talks by the summer.
The French president has tasked his foreign policy adviser Emmanuel Bonne to work alongside Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, to establish plans for future negotiations.
If all goes will, France hope to bring Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky together to discuss a peace plan by summer, according to Bloomberg.
The anonymous sources claim that future negotiations over the ongoing invasion will depend on a range of conditions – notably how successful Ukraine’s spring offensive is.
Kyiv would be in a much stronger position to negotiate should they counter Russia’s condemned invasion.
Emmanuel Macron (pictured with President Xi Jinping) is understood to be bidding to team up with China in hopes of bringing Russia and Ukraine to the table for peace talks by the summer
If all goes will, France hope to bring Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky together to discuss a peace plan by summer
It’s understood that Mr Macron’s office confirmed plans for Mr Bonne and Mr Wang to speak, but declined to comment on details. Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry said it was ‘difficult to verify the authenticity’ of the source of information.
Many Ukraine allies remain sceptical that China can play a role in bringing peace as a neutral given its ‘no-limits friendship’ with Moscow.
Discussions between France and China come in the wake of Mr Macron’s recent trip to Beijing – where the French president found himself in hot water over his comments about Taiwan.
READ MORE: Emmanuel Macron accused of China ‘appeasement’ over ‘ill-conceived’ Taiwan remarks
Macron triggered a firestorm by asserting that Europe should not automatically follow US policy on Taiwan and should avoid ‘crises that aren’t ours’. He was also called out by former US President Donald Trump for ‘kissing [President] Xi’s a**’.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen urged the bloc’s leaders to show unity in the face of China today – a week on from Macron’s comments.
‘A strong European China policy relies on strong coordination between member states and EU institutions and on the willingness to avoid divide and conquer tactics,’ von der Leyen, who accompanied Macron to Beijing, told MEPs.
‘We have already in the recent days and weeks seen those tactics in action and it is now time for Europe to move to action too. Now is the time to demonstrate our collective will,’ she said, in an address to the European Parliament.
Macron’s comments drew sharp criticism from several of France’s EU allies, especially nations in the east of the bloc that see the United States as their primary security guarantor in the face of China’s ally Russia.
Borrell said the bloc’s member states should try to get on the same ‘same wavelength’ over Beijing.
It is not yet clear whether Mr Macron’s strategy has support from Ukraine – although on Saturday, he said he had ‘discussed the next steps in the organisation of a peace summit’ with Zelensky
Macron triggered a firestorm by asserting that Europe should not automatically follow US policy on Taiwan and should avoid ‘crises that aren’t ours’. Pictured: The French president in China earlier this month with European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen
European leaders have pushed Beijing to get its close ally Moscow to pull back, but there have been no concrete results as of yet from their diplomatic outreach.
It is not yet clear whether Mr Macron’s strategy has support from Ukraine – although on Saturday, he said he had ‘discussed the next steps in the organisation of a peace summit’ with Zelensky.
Zelensky confirmed he had spent up to 90 minutes on the phone to Mr Macron in which they discussed the results of the president’s recent visit to China’.
One source told The Telegraph: ‘Mr Macron said publicly during his China trip that he wanted to get China to commit to playing a constructive role. Naturally, diplomatic discussions took place and there is a follow-up.’
Mr Macron, a currently unpopular figure at home over his pension reforms, has faced backlash from critics who believe he is pushing his own agenda as opposed to supporting allies such as Ukraine.
In fact, some believe that he is trying to play an active role in bringing the invasion to an end in order to create a legacy as a peacemaker.
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