In an interview that was released on Sunday, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claimed that Emmanuel Macron of France was wasting his time by contemplating engaging in any kind of engagement with Russia, Reuters too.
The Ukrainian conflict must be resolved through negotiations, according to Zelenskiy, who was speaking in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He was responding to Macron’s suggestion that Russia should be “defeated but not crushed” and that this should be done in relation to Ukraine.
On Sunday, the two presidents had a telephone conversation.
“It will be a useless dialogue. In fact, Macron is wasting his time. I have come to the conclusion that we are not able to change the Russian attitude,” Zelenskiy said. “If they have decided to isolate themselves in the dream of rebuilding the old Soviet empire, we cannot do anything about it. It is up to them to choose or not to cooperate with the community of nations on the basis of mutual respect.”
Vladimir Putin’s isolation from the rest of the world was attributed to Western sanctions, which he flatly denied.
The military support for Ukraine has to be increased, Macron warned partners on Friday.
In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche, he said that he did not support regime change and that there was no other course of action save bringing Putin back to the negotiation table. He also indicated that there was little possibility of a democratic solution coming from Russian civil society.
After these remarks, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that France need to keep in mind Napoleon Bonaparte’s loss in Russia during the 19th century.
Several NATO members have blasted Macron for sending contradictory signals about his stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskiy did not reference Macron’s most recent remarks while discussing their Sunday talk. Prior to this week’s first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Zelenskiy emphasized that the leaders needed to make certain collective decisions. These options were considered during the strategy session.
While making a quick trip to Paris this month, Zelenskiy said that the French president had experienced a dramatic transformation as seen by his recent hardening of position against Moscow.
