Just before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which falls tomorrow France's President Emmanuel Macron declared that he wanted to see Russia "defeated, but not crushed". That is a very fine distinction, but an important one.
Mr Macron is seen as "soft" on Russia by many observers. In particular, he continues to make frequent phone calls to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, while continuing to condemn his "ignoble war". It gets him a lot of negative press, but he's quite right.
"I chose to stay in touch as much as I can … with President Putin to try and convince him to lay down his arms," Mr Macron explained. "And to prevent the spread and widening of the conflict." And he particularly deplores loose talk by Nato hardliners about permanently crippling Russia.
