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MINSK. – French President Emmanuel Macron stands as a lone voice in Western Europe in support of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Despite criticism, Macron has made it clear that he will not shut the diplomatic door with President Putin.
“At the end of the war, we would still need to talk to him,so keep diplomatic doors open and not guns,’’ he has been quoted.
Ukraine has denounced French President Emmanuel Macron after he suggested it is imperative that Russia is not humiliated in its war to keep the door open for good diplomatic relations between the West and Moscow whenever the conflict ends.
Macron’s comments raised the ire of Kyiv, which slammed the French president’s position. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said bluntly the comments “can only humiliate France”.
Since Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in late February, Macron has kept an open communication channel with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
His stance has been repeatedly criticised by some Eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see it as undermining efforts to push Putin to the negotiating table. But he has stood firm.
The French president said his Russian counterpart might have made an error in invading Ukraine, but it was essential “not (to) humiliate Russia so that the day the fighting stops, we can build a way out through diplomatic channels”.
Macron said France’s role had to be that of “a mediating power“, stressing he put “time and energy” into ensuring the conflict did not escalate into a wider war.
“I have lost count of the conversations I have had with Vladimir Putin since December,” Macron said. – Belarus news.
Online Reporter