a minute agoMacro-Putin crashes live during joint conference
Periskopi(7 years ago)
(7 years ago)Russian President Vladimir Putin in a quick and critical response Monday told his French counterpart that he did not want protests similar to those of the yellow “jels in France to appear in Russia as well. This, in response to the appeal made to him by President Emmanuel Macron for Russia to adhere to principles [...]
This, in response to the call made to him by President Emmanuel Macron for Russia to uphold democratic principles, referring to several weeks' protests in Moscow.
President Macron, who hosted Mr. Putin at his summer residence in the south of France five days before the 7th Group meeting, aims to show Moscow that he is not being ignored despite being expelled from this group, following the Crimea annexation in 2014.
Although the talks focused on international crises, Mr. Macron tried to address Mr. Putin's domestic situation in Russia.
For more than a month Moscow has been shaken by protests that were sparked after authorities banned opposition candidates from competing in the city elections held in September.
“This summer we called for freedom to protest, for freedom of speech, thought and competition in elections, which should be fully respected in Russia as for any other European Council member state”, Mr. Macron said during a joint press conference before the meeting.
While President Putin initially seemed to ignore the comment, he immediately rejected Mr. Macron following a following question about protests in Moscow.
He said that things were being handled in accordance with the law, adding that he did not want the situation to end as in France.
“We all know the events related to so-called yellow zejelecs, during whose protests, according to our estimates, 11 people were killed and 2500 were injured”, Mr. Putin said.
“We would not like such events to happen in Moscow and we will do everything we can to guarantee the internal political situation and any action has been rigorously within the legal framework”, he added.
But President Macron said the comparison with France was incorrect, as, as he said, protesters of the yellow “jelic” can participate in the elections.
The two presidents announced they would discuss a series of international problems, as well as Iran, Syria and weapons control.
However, Paris's main interest appears to be the Ukrainian issue, which it hopes to see progress, as the country's new president offered Mr. Putin a chance for peace.
