Russia must not be humiliated in Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron said, to allow for better diplomatic relations between the West and Moscow as long as the war is over.
The French president said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had made a “historic and fundamental” mistake in invading Ukraine, but that a wider escalation of hostilities should be avoided.
In an interview with a group of regional newspapers in his home country, Macron said: “We must not humiliate Russia so that on the day the fighting ends, we can build an exit through diplomacy.”
France’s role was to be a “mediating power,” the president added, adding that he had devoted “time and energy” to making sure the conflict did not turn into a wider war, including negotiations with the United Nations. Russian President.
“I have lost count of the talks I have had with Vladimir Putin since December,” Macron said. It took 100 hours, he added, to be “at the request” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Macron has consistently tried to link directly with Putin and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the conflict, even in an 80-minute phone call late last month with Russian leader and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
This has led to regular accusations that the French leader wants Ukraine to make concessions to reach a peace deal, although the Elysee Palace says any peace deal must be negotiated between Putin and Zelensky, showing “the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. ” .
None of the discussions, however, seem to have paid off. The Russian invasion of Ukraine exceeded 100 days on Friday, with few signs that the war would end amid heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk.
Macron said he believed Putin had “isolated” himself and did not know what to do next. “Isolation is one thing, but being able to get out of it is a difficult path,” the French president added.
Elsewhere, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during the night that he had spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in his efforts to in the face of Ankara’s resistance to the accession of Finland and Sweden to the military alliance.
Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Erdogan and praised Turkey’s efforts to reach a maritime agreement between Russia and Ukraine to allow a resumption of food exports from Ukraine’s blocked ports.
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Turkey threatens to block the accession of Finland and Sweden, which have tried to join NATO after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, accusing the two countries of supporting Kurdish figures that Ankara says they are terrorists.
Erdogan’s office said the president had stressed that Sweden and Finland should “make it clear that they have stopped supporting terrorism,” lift defense export restrictions on Turkey, and be “ready to show solidarity.” with the alliance “.
The two Nordic countries had imposed restrictions after Turkey launched a military operation to take control of areas of Syria previously occupied by the country’s Kurdish minority. Stoltenberg tweeted on Friday afternoon that he had discussed with Marin “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” to ensure that Finnish and Swedish membership applications are approved.