Macron: Russia Must Be Respected as Country and People

French President Emmanuel Macron stated, on Monday, that he does not expect a negotiated end to the Russian war in Ukraine.

“I don’t think that in the days and weeks to come there will be a true negotiated solution,” Macron said at a forum in Poissy, a southwest suburb of Paris, while campaigning for the first time to renew his mandate in April presidential elections.

Furthermore, Macron affirmed that he has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a cease-fire must come before any real dialogue. However, Putin has refused the suggestion, making their regular talks “difficult.”

In the same vein, he asserted that Putin is making a “historic fault” with his war pitted against Ukrainians, “brothers.” The French president stressed the need to respect the people of all countries ... “and ensure that no nation, no people be humiliated.”

He also emphasized that Russia, too, must be respected as a country and people because “There is no durable peace if Russia is not (part of) a ... grand architecture of peace on our continent. Because History and geography are stubborn.”