France's aircraft carrier has just been kicked out by Iran, and now Macron is planning to visit Syria—getting a seat at the table is truly not easy.
Scarcely had the "Charles de Gaulle" aircraft carrier been expelled, when French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled new moves.
According to a statement released by Syria’s transitional government, Macron will visit Syria to meet with the country’s interim president, al-Sharaa. Moreover, Macron won’t be going alone—he will bring along an economic delegation.
Foreign observers believe the main purpose of this meeting is to expand bilateral economic cooperation, focusing on relations between the two countries and regional development. If realized, this would mark the first time since Syria’s political upheaval that a Western leader visits the country.
Previously, Trump met with al-Sharaa twice—once in Saudi Arabia and once at the White House. Last year, Macron also hosted al-Sharaa at the Elysée Palace. However, up to now, no Western leader has proactively visited Syria.
As for Syria’s announcement, the Elysée Palace has yet to respond. After all, Macron still needs to attend the NATO summit hosted by Turkey this week, so the timing hasn’t been finalized. Nevertheless, it is highly likely that news of Macron’s visit to Syria is not baseless.
Macron will step down next year, and in his final year in office, he constantly seeks to do something significant to leave behind his own political legacy. With Europe failing to gain traction on the global stage, he can only look to the Middle East for a breakthrough.
During the previous U.S.-Iran tensions, Macron repeatedly claimed he wanted to dispatch naval forces for escort missions. But after months of shouting, France only sent its carrier to cruise around the Mediterranean—never daring to come near Iran’s doorstep.
Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry explicitly warned France: “Do not provoke.” Should peace talks between the U.S. and Iran be disrupted, France would bear the consequences.
Thus, Macron took the opportunity to say that, due to the U.S.-Iran agreement, regional tensions have greatly eased, and the “Charles de Gaulle” carrier has fulfilled its mission—it will now return to its home port.
As if France’s aircraft carrier had played such a crucial role in regional peace. In reality, it was simply kicked out.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869946867600396/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.