In from the cold: president Macron hosted Vladimir Putin in France this summer

When General Charles de Gaulle visited Moscow in 1966, at the height of the Cold War, he delighted his hosts with his long-held vision of a Europe stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals — in which Russia had a legitimate voice west of the Iron Curtain.

More than five decades later, President Emmanuel Macron is making his own attempts to bring the Kremlin in from the cold.

Developments in Syria in the past week have reinforced his argument that Russia is too significant simply to be cold-shouldered. As America pulls back, Russian power in the Middle East grows — and with it Europe’s vulnerability.

During a meeting with French ambassadors, Macron warned “Europe would disappear” if it did not rethink its strategy towards Russia.