Ardently guarding the scene of the event which he personally approved, Emmanuel Macron asked guests in advance not to turn the ceremony in Paris into a marathon of bilateral meetings and to not forget why they came here. For the French president, this is indeed the event of the century: he is in command of the parade and the only person to deliver a speech.
But nothing can be perfect: dresses and hair were spoiled by the rain, Christine Lagarde covered herself with a briefcase instead of an umbrella, the microphone broke at a historic moment.
But most importantly, no matter how much they wanted "to not blur the event," everyone wants to know only one thing — whether the leaders of Russia and the US talked at the ceremony.
- Have you already met with Trump?
Vladimir Putin: Briefly.
Even if only briefly, as Vladimir Putin mentioned, did they talk or not? At the Arc de Triomphe, Vladimir Putin was asked the same question.
Vladimir Putin: “We haven't yet, we only said hello. The ceremony was organized in such a way that it was impossible to communicate there. We watched the events taking place. But in any case, we agreed that we wouldn't disrupt the timetable of the receiving party. At its request, we aren't arranging any meetings here but it will be possible, let's say, on the margins of the G20 Summit or later. In any case, we are ready for dialogue, because it's not us who are withdrawing from the treaty on shorter-range and intermediate-range missiles. It's the Americans who intend to do it. Both they and we are determined to restore the dialogue, what's more important, dialogue not even at such a high or top level, but at the level of experts. I hope that this full-scale negotiation process will be restored.”
The intrigue persisted until the end of the day — Trump and Putin had an opportunity to talk at dinner, but the protocol service of the Élysée Palace changed the seating arrangement at the last moment, the presidents of Russia and the US sat not next to each other, but across from each other. They couldn't have a substantial dialogue. Vladimir Putin discussed pan-European issues with his neighbors at the table — Jean-Claude Juncker and António Guterres. This week, Emmanuel Macron again proposed the idea of creating a pan-European army, which could protect them from external threats, so that they wouldn't have to rely on the US.
Vladimir Putin: "This isn't a new idea. Macron reanimated it, but one of the previous presidents, Jacques Chirac told me about it. These ideas existed before him. In general, Europe is a powerful economic entity and a powerful economic union. Basically, it's quite natural that they want to be independent, self-sufficient, and sovereign in the area of defense and security. I think this is a generally positive process in terms of strengthening the multi-polarity of the world. In this respect, our position has something in common with the position of France. About drills, we conduct drills, too. Actually, we try not to conduct large-scale exercises near the borders of NATO countries. The last major drill in the east that we conducted, was thousands of miles away from the borders of NATO countries. On the whole, we're calm about this. I hope that the dialogue, which is always in demand, will play its positive role here as well".
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were among the last ones to leave the Élysée Palace.
- Have you managed to talk to Trump?
Vladimir Putin: Yes.
- And what was it like?
The conversation still took place. And there will be another one at the end of November at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. Saying goodbye, the presidents said to each other, "see you later." Vladimir Putin went to the Peace Forum. Donald Trump went to the American cemetery where the soldiers of WWI are buried. He didn't go there earlier as he was afraid to get wet, for which he was severely criticized, not only in his country. An inflatable president in a diaper and with a mobile phone flew all day long over the Place de la République.
Thousands of media covered today's events: the commemoration ceremony, the forum, and the protest action. The rights of all were equal in celebration of the holiday. But Monday will come tomorrow and some of the Russian journalists in France will have to fight for their right to work like everyone else again. The Elysée Palace refused accreditation to RT France because the European Parliament recommended that back in 2016.
Vladimir Putin: "We know and have always heard from our Western colleagues that one of the main principles of democracy is the freedom to disseminate information. Making lists and giving recommendations on which kinds of media are good and which are bad, in my opinion, isn't acceptable at all. It has nothing to do with democracy".
The leaders of 70 countries left Paris. The world celebrated a truce: France managed to gather everyone — allies and opponents — former and present. At least for one day, conflicts and misunderstandings faded into the background.
Asya Emelyanova, Andrei Sorokin, and Illya Bernatskiy, Vesti Nedeli, Paris.
