Ahead of talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron said a deal to avoid war in Ukraine is possible. And last month, he said the European Union should open its own dialogue with Moscow rather than relying on the US to sort it out. That’s the lead in to talks that started overnight – although who knows if he and Putin could hear each other down the long table… Macron says it’s legitimate for Russia to raise security concerns and called for a “new balance” to protect the “sovereignty and peace” of European states like Ukraine. Taking a more pessimistic view of the situation is the US. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says Russia has assembled about 70% of the necessary military capability needed for a full-scale pile-on.