France's Macron puts national security at heart of foreign policy | Reuters
Reuters
By John Irish | PARIS PARIS President Emmanuel Macron is starting to realign France's foreign policy, setting out plans to be less interventionist in conflicts abroad and putting his country's national security at the heart of diplomacy.When Macron, 39, took office just over a month ago, he was widely expected to put the emphasis on continuity in foreign policy, an area in which he is a newcomer.Following a policy based largely on ideological interests, France has in recent years been quick to intervene militarily in conflicts such as those in Libya, Mali and Central African Republic. That appears to be about to change under Macron.This week he dropped demands for President Bashar al-Assad to depart as a condition for any peace settlement in Syria and held out an olive branch to Russian President Vladimir Putin at talks in Versailles on May 29.Macron appears to be broadly aligning his foreign policy with the U.S. priorities of tackling terrorism while seeking better ties with Russia, which he considers a long-term partner rather than a direct threat to Europe.Diplomats and officials say he is also seeking to shift policy by making clear his immediate aims are to weaken Islamist militants who threaten France from the Middle East and embark only on diplomatic initiatives that can bring concrete results The post France's Macron puts national security at heart of foreign policy
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