This is a good sign for those who think the present confrontation with Russia is not only counter productive in terms of getting a settlement and ending the destruction and death. It is also as damaging to the West’s long term financial interests as much as it is to Russia in the short term. So the decision by the French president to break his journey back from a visit to Kazakhstan and meet his Russian counterpart may help move everybody forward to a more enduring truce.
There is a longstanding history of ties between Russia and France going back centuries. Sarkozy when French president helped to de-escalate the Georgia crisis and kept the West from losing its cool at that time and this blog has already remarked that it would have been good to have him in play over the Ukraine crisis. Hollande does not have the standing and clout of his predecessor but it is good to see he is willing to have a go. Nobody else is.