French President Emanuel Macron explained how, over the years of political relations with Putin, he moved from personal calls to the Russian President to tougher statements – at the level of the possibility of using foreign troops in Ukraine.
The politician recalled that there is a gap of two years between these periods. At first, he really (in 2017-2022) communicated a lot with Putin. There were meetings in different formats: in France, during visits to Russia, in the international arena. The main goal of these “dates” was peace in Ukraine and compliance with the Minsk agreements, Macron said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Natalya Moseychuk.
In this context, he recalled the only meeting between Zelensky and Putin, which took place in the Normandy format in Paris in 2019.
“Here, within these walls, it was an opportunity when President Putin and Zelensky met for the only time. It was in December 2019, we cared about the security of Europe. We wanted to engage Putin in the dialogue about the security of Europe with these discussions, but then a new one came phase,” Macron emphasized.
The French leader explained that while he saw an opportunity, he tried to talk to Putin, but the latter violated all obligations. Even on a personal level.
“Which were in the Minsk format, which were between us. As long as it was possible, I continued to talk to him, but after the scenes of mass war crimes, after Bucha, the war entered another phase. I was thinking about what our strategic position could now be.. “I thought about this for a very long time and came to the conclusion that today the situation is more difficult than ever,” the politician explained.
He emphasized that he admires what the Ukrainian people are doing, but now there are very large losses on both sides at the front. At the same time, Russia was able to organize itself for this war and rebuild its economy for the long term, while there is a lot of uncertainty in the international arena in 2024.
“Therefore, we need to not only determine how to move towards peace, but also what this real world will be like. A world that will ensure both security for you and security for Europe. That is why we need this new impulse at the level of European countries to speed up assistance, do otherwise. If the enemy says: “we have no limits,” then why should we say that we have these limits? We have a goal – Russia should not and cannot win this war. That is why we will continue to be side by side with Ukraine. There will be no peace in Europe if Ukraine is forced to capitulate,” said the French President.
Watch an extended version of the conversation with Macron at Youtube channel Natalia Moseychuk.
Read also:
Macron is considering sending troops to Ukraine
Macron said for the first time that he did not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine at the end of February. His statement was picked up by the international media, and several countries made it clear at the official level that they ruled out such a prospect of participating in the war.
Subsequently, the French newspaper Le Monde clarified that such discussions at a secret level have been ongoing in France since the summer of 2023.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky personally addressed the French nation about this. He said that as long as the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back Putin’s troops, French children will not have to die in battle.
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2024-03-16 19:00:00
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