January 1, China and France Meet for Peace Talks

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Well, well, well, it looks like Emmanuel Macron is at it again. The French President recently travelled to China to hold talks with the Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, and now we’re learning that he’s also tasked top diplomats from Paris to engage with Beijing in crafting a deal to end the war in Ukraine. The Elysée believes that such a deal could possibly be struck by the summer, but only if certain conditions are met.

Macron wants Kyiv to succeed in its Spring counter-offensive to such a degree that the Zelensky government would be able to come to the table with Vladimir Putin from a position of strength. An official from Macron’s office reportedly told Bloomberg that the French President has tapped his foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne to work alongside the CCP’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to begin crafting a potential peace framework.

Now, let’s pause for a moment and consider the absurdity of this situation. Macron, who was one of the few Western leaders willing to engage with Moscow in the early days following the invasion, later fell in line with the neo-liberal establishment and backed sending billions to the region in the form of money and weapons to prop up the proxy war. And now he wants to bring China into the mix?

Beijing proposed a supposed framework for peace negotiations back in February, including an immediate ceasefire. But the approach was widely dismissed as being light on detail and unworkable given China’s close relationship with Russia. Yet, apparently, the French President believes that the communist regime, which has openly threatened to launch a territorial war itself to capture the democratic independent nation of Taiwan, is a genuine actor in the cause for peace.

This move is even more perplexing given Macron’s recent comments about Europe’s relationship with the United States. He said that Europe shouldn’t “follow” America into a conflict with Beijing if the communist nation invades Taiwan and that Europe should develop its own “strategic autonomy” to stop being the “vassal” of the United States.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for peace negotiations and finding a way to end the conflict in Ukraine. But relying on China to help broker a deal is misguided at best and downright dangerous at worst. Beijing has shown time and again that it will do whatever it takes to expand its influence and control. And let’s not forget that Russia, the main aggressor in this conflict, has made it clear that it doesn’t want France, alongside the United States, UK, and Germany, to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow given that the Western powers have all sent weapons to be used on the battlefield against Russian soldiers.

I’m skeptical that Macron has the clout to broker a deal, and even if he does, it’s unclear if the Kremlin will take him seriously. Putin has a thirst for war and a desire to show that he won’t be seen as bowing to the West. As for me, I’ll be watching this situation closely and hoping for a peaceful resolution that doesn’t rely on the whims of China or the misguided machinations of Emmanuel Macron.

source: Breitbart