In an interview published Saturday night, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that he wants Russia to be “defeated” in its war on Ukraine, but not to be “crushed”.
In the same context, he ruled out that “Russia must be completely defeated and attacked on its territory.” Macron touched on the war in Ukraine in an interview with “Le Journal du Dimanche”, “Le Figaro” and “France International” radio, on his way back on Friday evening from the Munich Security Conference.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Saturday night that he wants Russia to be “defeated” in its war on Ukraine, but not to be “crushed”.
His remarks come on his way back on Friday evening from the Munich Security Conference, where he urged allies to intensify their support for Ukraine, stressing France’s readiness for a protracted conflict.
“I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position,” he told Le Journal du Dimanche and Le Figaro newspapers and Radio France Internationale. He added, “I think this will not end militarily in the end,” expecting that neither side will be able to fully win the conflict.
“I do not think, like some, that Russia should be completely defeated, attacked on its territory. These observers want above all to crush Russia. This has never been France’s position and never will be,” the French president added.
Macron considered that “what is required today is for Ukraine to launch a military attack that disrupts the Russian front in order to return to negotiations.”
And he expressed his belief that “all options other than Vladimir Putin in the current system” seem to him “worse” than the Russian president, referring to strong men such as the head of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev or the head of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin.
And the French President asked, “Do we sincerely believe that a democratic solution will emerge from the current Russian civil society after these years of restrictions and in the midst of the conflict? I sincerely hope so, but I do not believe in it.”
Source : France 24