Paris received Putin’s exceptional reception, repositioning France-Russia relations.

　　　　On May 29th, Sarkozy hosted a dinner in honor of Putin at the Elysee Palace.

　　　　Putin, the new Russian Prime Minister, paid a two-day visit to France at the end of May, which was Putin’s first visit to western countries as a head of government after leaving the presidency. The French side gave an unusual reception: in addition to the official talks between Prime Minister Fillon and Putin, President Sarkozy hosted a dinner at the Elysee Palace and personally sent Putin to the door of the presidential palace after the dinner. The two talked happily under the eyes of many reporters. According to French practice, it is unusual for the President of the Republic to hold a dinner at the Elysee Palace, and only foreign heads of state can enjoy this honor when they pay a state visit. Therefore, some media commented that although Putin stepped down from the presidency, the French side still gave him "head of state-level treatment". This unusual move is not only a special courtesy for Putin, but also shows that after a period of low tide, French-Russian relations have now been repositioned, and the two sides are trying to establish a mutually beneficial new strategic partnership under the changing world situation.

　　　　During the reign of former French President Jacques Chirac, the relationship between France and Russia was very close. Apart from economic and trade cooperation, the two sides maintained coordination on international hot issues, especially on the Iraq war and the Iranian nuclear crisis, which constituted some checks and balances for the United States. However, Sarkozy’s policy towards Russia was very tough at first. During his presidential campaign, he publicly criticized Moscow on Chechnya, human rights and other issues, so that when he was elected president, Putin did not send a congratulatory message to the new French president with a strong "pro-American" tendency to express his dissatisfaction. After Sarkozy came to power, France’s foreign policy was greatly adjusted, but the direction of its policy toward Russia was not clear. Last year, Sarkozy visited Moscow, and bilateral relations improved, but the prospects remained vague.

　　Sarkozy advocates a "new relationship" between France and Russia.

　　　　Putin’s visit to Paris this time can be said to be a new symbol of the development of French-Russian relations. This is first manifested in the positive changes in the atmosphere of bilateral relations, and a typical performance is about human rights issues. Sarkozy criticized Russia most strongly on the human rights issue, but now he has changed his tone. Fillon, who held talks with Putin, explained that France has always advocated active dialogue and is not prepared to teach anyone a lesson on human rights issues. He also believes that Russia is constantly "progressing" on the road to modernization. In addition to the change in atmosphere, more importantly, the two sides have a new understanding of the strategic significance of cooperation in their respective fundamental interests. Not long ago, Sarkozy sent Foreign Minister Kouchner to visit Moscow to meet with Medvedev, who just took office as Russian president. France put forward the idea of establishing a "new relationship" between the two countries. The two sides held in-depth consultations. It is reported that the establishment of a long-term and balanced new relationship between France and Russia will take the common interests of both sides as the starting point. Fillon said that Russia has made remarkable progress in the economic field in recent years, and is playing the role of an important country again on the international stage. France hopes to establish a "long-term partnership" with a "strong, prosperous and democratic" Russia. Obviously, the long-term interests of both sides are the real reason for the positive changes in bilateral relations.

　　　　Sarkozy’s adjustment of Russia policy is not accidental, but an integral part of his new diplomatic strategy. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, France adopted a policy of "beating and pulling" against Russia. Due to the mutual demand in the fields of economy, trade and energy, France must draw Russia closer to Western Europe. At the same time, the potential threat posed by the former "superpower" in security has always been a serious concern of France, so it constantly exerts pressure on it to submit. In recent two years, with the recovery and enhancement of Russia’s economic strength, Russia has taken an increasingly tough stance against the United States and opposed the strategic containment policy adopted by the United States against Russia. France and Russia are close neighbors and belong to Europe, so they are cautious about Russia’s "comeback". The US plan to deploy anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic has aroused strong dissatisfaction from Russia, while France has kept a low profile on the US "anti-missile plan", stressing that the United States and Europe should hold consultations on this; On the issue of NATO’s eastward expansion, Sarkozy explicitly opposed Ukraine and Georgia’s accession to NATO, one of the purposes of which was to avoid stimulating Russia. Sarkozy made a new judgment on how to position the relationship between France and Russia. In a foreign policy speech at the beginning of this year, he said: "In the next 30 to 40 years, we will enter the era of relatively big countries, with China, India, Brazil and other countries rising in the political and economic fields, and Russia gradually recovering its vitality, thus creating conditions for the formation of a new multipolar world in which big countries sing in chorus." According to his famous "theory of relative powers", Russia, as a "recovered" power, will become a member of the future multipolar world.This shows that Sarkozy faces up to the reality of Russia’s comeback with a pragmatic attitude, and at the same time sees the importance of Russia to France and even Europe in the economic, political and security fields. Therefore, it is in France’s long-term strategic interest to establish a new partnership with Russia. This judgment is in line with Sarkozy’s new diplomatic strategy, that is, to establish a stable and balanced relationship with all major countries in the world.

　　Russia relies on France to stabilize relations with the EU.

　　　　From Russia’s point of view, the improvement of France-Russia relations is also a top priority. France is a big country in Western Europe, and it is also a core country with considerable influence in the European Union. It is in Russia’s interest to establish a stable cooperative relationship with the European Union under the aggressive strategic pressure of the United States, and maintaining good relations with France will be the only way to stabilize Russia’s relations with the European Union. At present, Moscow is also seeking to consolidate and develop bilateral relations in Germany, another big country in western Europe, and its intention lies in this. France will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union in the second half of this year, and ambitious Sarkozy is ready to make a difference in EU affairs. At this important moment, the purpose of Putin’s visit to Paris to hold consultations with France on building a new relationship between the two countries in the future is very clear. It is reported that at the end of this month, Russia and the European Union will resume negotiations on a new partnership agreement that was suspended for two years, and France’s role in this negotiation is very obvious. Recently, Sarkozy visited Warsaw and signed a strategic partnership agreement with Poland. It can be predicted that France will play a necessary role in persuading Poland and other new Central and Eastern European member countries to accept a new partnership agreement between Russia and Europe.

　　　　In short, the repositioning of France-Russia relations not only conforms to the interests of the two countries, but also has an impact on Russia’s relations with the European Union. Moreover, the development of Russian-European relations will inevitably become an important factor in the evolution of the relationship between the United States, Europe and Russia. (Shen Xiaoquan, a researcher at the Center for World Studies of Xinhua News Agency)

Editor: Li Xiuwei