4 minutes agoMacro: Russia must not be humiliated, despite Putin's historic mistake
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)French President Emmanuel Macron has declared it vital that Russia not be humiliated so that when fighting in Ukraine can be stopped, a diplomatic solution can be found. He added that he believed Paris would play an intermediate role to end the conflict. “We should not humiliate Russia, in [...]
“We should not humiliate Russia, so that the day the fighting stops, we can build an exit platform by diplomatic means. I am convinced that France's role is to be a middle power”, Macron said in an interview for regional newspapers published on Saturday.
Macron has sought to develop a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February this year. His stance has been repeatedly criticised by several Eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see him as undermining efforts to pressure Putin at the negotiating table.
He has spoken regularly with Putin since the invasion, as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire and start a credible negotiations between Kiev and Moscow. And I thought, and I told him, that he's making a historical and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history”, Macron said.
France has supported Ukraine militarily and financially, but so far Macron has not been in Kiev to offer symbolic political support as other EU leaders, something Ukraine has asked him to do.
