PARIS (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Emmanuel Macron has stated that Russia mustn’t be humiliated in Ukraine in order for diplomatic relations between Moscow and the west to improve once the war is over.
President Emmanuel Macron of France said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had made a “historic and fundamental” mistake in invading Ukraine, but that a larger escalation of hostilities had to be avoided.
They need not humiliate Russia so that the day the combat ceases, they could establish a way out through diplomatic channels, Macron said in an interview with a group of regional newspapers in his native nation.
The president went on to explain that France’s position would be that of “a mediating force,” adding that he had spent “time and energy” ensuring the dispute would not expand into a wider war, including speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Macron stated that he had lost track of the number of talks he had with Vladimir Putin since December. He claimed that they totaled 100 hours and were done “at the request of” Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Macron has continuously sought direct contact with Putin and has urged for a ceasefire in the conflict, including a phone call of 80 minutes with Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of last month.
This has led to charges that the French president wants Ukraine to make sacrifices in exchange for a peace deal, despite the Élysée Palace’s statement that any peace deal must be discussed between Putin and Zelenskiy, with full regard for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
However, none of the discussions appear to have yielded any results. On Friday, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached its 100th day, with little prospect of the conflict coming to a conclusion amid fierce fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk.
Macron claimed that Putin had “isolated himself” and that he had no idea what to do next. Isolating oneself was one thing, but getting out of it was another, the French president continued.
In other news, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he met with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, and Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, over the weekend in an effort to overcome Ankara’s opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the military alliance.
Stoltenberg said he spoke with Erdoan on a productive phone call and praised Turkey’s attempts to establish a maritime deal between Russia and Ukraine that would allow food supplies from Ukraine’s blockaded ports to resume.
Turkey has threatened to stymie Finland and Sweden’s attempts to join Nato in the wake of Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine, accusing the two nations of supporting Kurdish figures that Ankara considers terrorists.
According to Erdoan’s office, the president stressed that Finland and Sweden should make it apparent that they had stopped supporting terrorism, lift defence export limitations imposed on Turkey, and be prepared to demonstrate alliance solidarity.
Turkey launched a military operation in Syria to take control of territories previously held by the country’s Kurdish minority, prompting the two Nordic countries to implement restrictions. Late Friday, Stoltenberg tweeted that he spoke with Marin about “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” in order to get the Swedish and Finnish membership applications accepted.
