MOHAMMED BADRA / AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again defied Emmanuel Macron’s comments on Russia, saying he was “wasting his time” in “pointless dialogue” with Vladimir Putin.
WAR IN UKRAINE – waste of time according to Kiev. In an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, published Sunday, February 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again contradicted French President’s comments on Russia, believing he was “wasting his time wasted” on something that “will be useless”. Dialogue” with Vladimir Putin.
Remarks by the President of Ukraine in response to statements by his French counterpart in the press on Sunday, in which Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to defeat Vladimir Putin’s Russia but without “crushing” him, again paving the way for negotiations.
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“It will be a useless dialogue, in reality Macron is wasting his time. I have come to the conclusion that we are unable to change the Russian attitude. If they decided to isolate themselves in the dream of rebuilding the former Soviet empire, there is nothing we can do about it, it is up to them whether or not to cooperate with the community of nations on the basis of mutual respect,” he confided to Volodymyr Zelensky in the Italian newspaper.
“When the economic sanctions were imposed, some accused us of isolating Russia, but that was not the truth: it was rather the decision to start the war that marginalized Putin,” adds the Ukrainian leader, who Emmanuel Macron had already opposed his desire for dialogue with the Kremlin when the French President declared in May 2022 that he did not want to “humiliate” Russia.
During an interview with JDD, Le Figaro and France Inter on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron criticized those who wanted “to destroy Russia above all” and believed that “that position” will “never” be France’s. But the tenant of the Élysée remembered that what he wanted above all was “the defeat” of Russia.
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Call Paris-Kyiv
Despite this new disagreement between Kyiv and Paris over the stance towards Moscow, Emmanuel Macron assured his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday that he would support his peace plan “at the international level” during a talk phone call between the two heads of state.
Emmanuel Macron “reaffirmed his commitment to the 10-point peace plan proposed by President Zelenskyy and assured him that he would support this initiative at international level in the forthcoming diplomatic events,” according to the Élysée. They also referred to “the reminder (on Friday at the annual Munich Security Conference) to European and NATO partners of the need to increase and accelerate military support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.”
For his part, Zelenskyy tweeted that he praised “the continuation of a friendly dialogue” with Macron and confirmed that both had spoken of “the implementation of the peace plan”, without mentioning Macron’s recent comments on Russia.
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Continuation of friendly dialogue with 🇫🇷 President @emmanuelmacron. Touches defense cooperation and bring peace… https://t.co/9ZQmbsE0kp
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa)
“I thank the President for his understanding of our needs and for this common feeling that we must defend ourselves against Russian aggression without losing an opportunity and without wasting a week,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added in his daily message.
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