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CHRONIC. The virtuous citizen refuses any compromise with the Russian president, whom he associates with the devil. The diplomat knows he has no other choice.
By Gerard Araud
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TThroughout my career, I have been struck by the misunderstanding that separates the diplomat from the citizen. I’m not talking about the caricatures that once seized on an advertisement for Italian chocolate, I’m not even talking about the image of elegant businessism that Talleyrand bequeathed to us: I’m referring to the ever-renewed debate on morality in foreign policy . Here it is, in full swing again, on the occasion of the war in Ukraine: Russia attacked its neighbour; his armies have committed atrocities; they systematically destroyed the civilian infrastructure of his enemy. The conclusion that must be imposed, we are told on television sets, is obviously to defend the good and punish the bad. Any other policy would be immoral weakness.
And the diplomat of so…