Ukraine-Russian Crisis

Ukraine War: ‘Russia Must Not Be Humiliated In Ukraine’ — Macron

Published

2 years ago

Jun 5, 2022.

Benard Joseph

‘Russia Must Not Be Humiliated In Ukraine’ — Macron
Giving an interview with a group of regional newspapers in his home country, Macron said: “We must not humiliate Russia so that the day the fighting stops, we can build a way out through diplomatic channels.”

EDITOR’S PICK

Ukraine War: Western Nations Promise To Send More, Better Arms To Ukraine
Ukraine War: West Must ‘Prepare For War’, Says Ex-Nato Chief As Putin Unleashes Cruise Missiles In Ukraine
Elon Musk Stages $43bn Hostile Takeover Of Twitter

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the French president said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had made a “historic and fundamental” error in invading Ukraine, but that nevertheless, a wider escalation in hostilities had to be avoided.

Giving an interview with a group of regional newspapers in his home country, Macron said: “We must not humiliate Russia so that the day the fighting stops, we can build a way out through diplomatic channels.”

The role of France was to be that of “a mediating power”, the president added, saying he had put “time and energy” into ensuring the conflict did not escalate into a wider war, including negotiating with the Russian president.

“I have lost count of the conversations I have had with Vladimir Putin since December,” Macron said. They amounted to 100 hours’ worth, he added, which were “at the request of” Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Macron has consistently sought to engage directly with Putin and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the conflict, including on an 80-minute phone call at the end of last month with the Russian leader and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

That has led to periodic accusations that the French leader wants Ukraine to make concessions to secure a peace agreement, although the Élysée Palace says any peace agreement must be negotiated between Putin and Zelenskiy, showing “due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

None of the discussions, however, appear to have borne fruit. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine passed the 100-day mark on Friday, with little sign of the war ending 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. “Isolating oneself is one thing, but being able to get out of it is a difficult path,” the French president added.

FURTHER READING:

Elsewhere, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said overnight he had spoken to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, in his efforts to deal with Ankara’s resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the military alliance.

Click to watch our video of the week: