Emmanuel Macron flies to Moscow in a diplomatic mission that is high-risk

Emmanuel Macron flies to Moscow in a diplomatic mission that is high-risk. 

French President Emmanuel Macron flies to Moscow on Monday in an unpopular diplomatic move seeking assurances by Russian Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin to dial down tensions with Ukraine, which Western leaders are worried that the Kremlin is planning to launch an invasion.

Macron has been on a frantic sequence of telephone calls to Western allies Putin and the Ukrainian leader in the last week. 

Macron will follow up on Tuesday by making a trip to Kyiv and is putting a lot of political capital on a journey that could end in embarrassment should he return empty-handed.

“We’re headed to Putin’s abode. In many ways, it’s an attempt to throw the dice,” one source close to Macron said to media.

Russia has deployed around 100,000 troops in Ukraine and has demanded NATO and U.S. security guarantees, for example, that NATO will never accept Ukraine as an associate member.

MORE: Russian strike on Ukraine could happen ‘any time’: White House says diplomacy is still an option.

Sources close to Macron stated that one of the goals for his trip was to purchase time and to freeze the situation for a few months, at a minimum until the “Super April” of elections across Europe, which includes Hungary, Slovenia, and, most notably for Macron the visit, in France.

The French leader, who earned a reputation for high well-publicized diplomatic excursions since he was elected in 2017, has attempted to influence and challenge Putin during the last five years. 

His efforts have led to intense discussions with Putin’s Russian leader, as well as difficult backslides.

After the election of Macron, Macron presented the red carpet for Putin at the Palace of Versailles but also made use of the occasion to express his displeasure at Russian meddling in the election. 

The pair met at the French president’s summer residence a few years later.

However, Macron’s numerous overtures didn’t stop Russian expansion into traditional French areas that influence Africa and culminated this year with an influx of Russian military mercenaries within Mali. 

French officials believe that the Kremlin backs them.

Eastern European countries who suffered years of Soviet rule have been critical of Macron’s tolerant stance towards Russia and have been wary of Macron’s view of negotiations to create a “new European security order” with Russia.

To ward off criticism ahead of the trip and assume the role of European leadership during this time of crisis, Macron has been at the forefront of collaborating on other Western leaders this time around, including British President Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden.

The French president’s trip to Moscow and Ukraine occurs just three months before an election in France. 

The president’s political advisors see the possibility of a positive impact on his electoral prospects, althoughMacron has yet to declare whether he’ll contest the election.

“For President Trump, this is an opportunity to prove his leadership in Europe. But, unfortunately, he is over the crowd,” one French government source told.