French Minister Addad: Macron’s call to Putin means that Europe wants to have only diplomatic process with Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron's call to Russian leader Vladimir Putin does not mean that Paris' position on the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia is changing.
This was stated by French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Addad in an interview with LRT, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, Macron called Putin to discuss the issue of Iran, as Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has leverage over Tehran.
"But he [Macron] also said very clearly that the war in Ukraine must end, that the Ukrainians agreed to a ceasefire, and Russia continues to bomb Ukraine every day, puts forward maximalist demands such as neutrality, demilitarization. This is absolutely unacceptable," Addad said.
At the same time, the French minister denied that Macron's first conversation with the Russian dictator in three years was a sign of warming relations.
"A conversation is definitely not the same as an agreement. It's more about the desire to have a diplomatic process where we can clearly communicate our messages and exert pressure by all means, including economic sanctions," he emphasized.
Addad added that the United States has resumed negotiations with Russia, so it is important that the Europeans are at the table and continue to support "a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and for all of Europe."
To recap, on Tuesday, July 1, French President Emmanuel Macron had a phone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for the first time since 2022.
According to Bloomberg, Putin rejected a ceasefire in Ukraine during the conversation with Macron.
