France and Russia meet to discuss Ukraine and Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron met high Russian
officials in Paris on Tuesday, July 24. The meeting occurred hours after the
Russians had met German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Unian news agency reports
that like the meeting in Berlin, this one also included foreign ministers,
namely French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, as well as the Russian military’s chief of staff Valery
Gerasimov. The situation in Donbas was discussed, but no details were given.

James Hydzik: As with the
meeting in Berlin, this one was conducted with little fanfare. We see no reason
to change our view that the Russian side was feeling out its European neighbors
after the Helsinki summit, and that the status quo has not changed.