Macron says he will remain in contact with Putin
despite ‘ignoble war’
The French president condemned Putin’s lies.
BY ELISA
BRAUN
March 2,
2022 11:14 pm
PARIS —
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Vladimir Putin’s “ignoble war”
against Ukraine but said he would keep open lines of communication with the
Russian president to try and convince him to stop his deadly military
offensive.
“It is
alone and in a deliberate manner that, reneging on [his previous] commitments …
President Putin has chosen war,” the French president said in a televised
speech on Wednesday evening.
Talking to
a domestic audience, Macron made a point of countering Putin’s false narrative
about the war being a defensive move against NATO’s eastern expansion.
“This war
is not a conflict between NATO and the West on the one hand, and Russia on the
other … there are no NATO troops or bases in Ukraine. These are lies,” Macron
said. “Russia is not being aggressed, it is the aggressor.”
Several of
Macron’s rivals in the campaign ahead of April’s presidential election have
until recently argued that Putin was legitimate in his grievances.
Slamming
Putin’s “unbearable propaganda,” Macron also said the war was not “a fight
against Nazism. It is a lie. An insult to the history of Russia and Ukraine, to
the memory of our elders who fought side by side against the Nazis.”
While
strongly condemning Putin’s acts, the French president said he would keep an
open line of communication with the Kremlin in an effort to stop the spread of
the conflict.
“I chose to
stay in touch as much as I can and as much as it’s needed with President Putin
to try and convince him to lay down his arms … and to prevent the spread and
widening of the conflict.”
Macron also
sought to make a distinction between the Russian president and its people.
“We are not
at war with Russia,” the French president said. “We are today on the side of
all Russians who, refusing that an ignoble war be waged in their name, have the
spirit of responsibility and the courage to defend peace.”
Call for
European defense
The French
president called on Europe to invest more in its security, echoing his
long-standing position that the Continent needs to strengthen its defense and
strategic capabilities.
Europe
“needs to accept to pay the price for peace,” Macron said.
“We cannot
let others defend ourselves; whether on land, at sea, under the sea, in the
air, in space or in cyberspace,” Macron said.
“Our
European defense must take a new step. On March 10 and 11 in Versailles, I will
bring together the European heads of state and government for a summit to
decide on these issues,” he said, referring to a planned high-level meeting
under the banner of the French rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
“Europe has
shown unity and determination, it has entered a new era. We must keep
on,” he added.
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