23.09.2006 France. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, French President Jacques Chirac, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Chateau de Compiegne near Paris.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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The French Look
Vladimir Putin’s first visit to Paris in his new capacity has aroused much speculation in the West, which is quite explicable. This tour gives you food for thought over the new model of government which is being formed in Russia under President Medvedev. The question «Who is Mr Putin?» now has a new interpretation. It’s not a matter of Vladimir Putin personally, rather, it’s an estimation of the Medvedev-Putin tandem’s performance.
France once again becomes a test ground for the odd situation in the Russian politics. I remember my trip with Boris Yeltsin in 1991, as he wasn’t President yet. At that time the French were at sixes and sevens, too: in Moscow, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was head of state, and asked Paris not to receive Boris Yeltsin. President François Mitterrand found himself at a disadvantage. He understood that he was to follow the protocol, but Boris Yeltsin was Russia’s potential new leader. I remember how hard the talks were where we intended to find a way out of the challenging situation. Finally, François Mitterrand received Boris Yeltsin, which he never regretted thereafter.
For all that, it need be said about a key difference between that situation back 17 years and the present one. Then, in 1991, just on the threshold of the USSR breakup, there were two competing centers of power in Moscow. The dilemma the French had to address when receiving Boris Yeltsin reflected that dual power. Today there is one center of power in Moscow, not two. To prevent the foreign audience from having any doubts about it, Vladimir Putin must style himself President Medvedev’s partner, rather than former President. I am sure that watching closely Vladimir Putin’s visit to Paris, the West will wonder to what extent the new Russian Prime Minister will exceed the limits of his premier status. One can already anticipate sarcastic headlines of French newspapers, such as “Premier-President Putin in Paris.”
Of course, you can hardly imagine that Vladimir Putin abandons big politics. At the same time it’s necessary to keep in mind what costs Russia can bear in case this situation remains. If the Putin-Medvedev tandem means that Russia’s foreign policy has two equally important “heads,” it will confuse the West even more and won’t allow it to conduct a normal, predictable policy regarding Russia. The presence of the two heads would be possible if all foreign policy steps and statements could be synchronized. But it’s very difficult to make such a model function.
When listening to Vladimir Putin, the French will be trying to guess what his statements imply, and whether it’s Moscow’s official stance, or just an opinion, thought the one of Vladimir Putin. Actually politics is based on such nuances. And it’s only we that can answer the questions posed by the West.
Andrey Fedorov, Director of Foreign Policy Programs with the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister in 1990-1991
All the Article in Russian as of May 29, 2008
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