Paris, 18 Feb. French President Emmanuel Macron assures that he wants the defeat of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, but “without crushing it”, and reiterates his conviction that the war will have a negotiated solution.
“France’s position has never been, and will not be, to crush Russia,” Macron said in an interview with various French media previously posted on the internet.
Macron, sometimes criticized outside France for allegedly pro-Russian positions, insists: “I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend itself, but I am convinced that in the end it will not happen. will not end militarily. ”
For this reason, he considers that “what is needed now is for Ukraine to launch a military offensive which will upset the Russian front in order to initiate a return to negotiations”.
This, he said, is because “neither side can completely win” militarily, a sentiment he says is also shared by France’s allies.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Le Journal du Dimanche and France Inter radio, the French president assures us that the unity of Europeans and the Western camp is one of the great failures of Russian President Vladimir Putin, although he warns that the Europeans will be the losers if the conflict drags on.
Macron also acknowledges that he does not “really” believe that the war can bring about a transition to democracy in Russia, although “I very much hope so”. “And all the options outside of Vladimir Putin in the current system seem worse to me,” he admits.
The interview was conducted on Friday during Macron’s trip to Munich to take part in the Security Conference which has been held in this German city since 1963.
In his speech on Friday, Macron opted for a “massive” rearmament of Europe in the face of growing international instability: “Europe will be more easily respected if it has weapons. It is also a means of accelerating the European component of NATO”, he insisted. .to maintenance.
But he stresses that Europeans should not just buy arms. “We must produce them and build our security architecture without having to delegate it to others, whether Americans or Chinese,” he said.
On Friday, Macron also reiterated that there will be “no lasting peace” on the continent until “we deal with the Russian question”.
“I think that we have to digest the Soviet and Russian history of the 20th century, which we have not yet done”, underlines Macron in his interview, even if he warns Moscow that “the only way to achieve peace in Europe is to leave behind us the stories of empires. Who has not understood is Vladimir Putin”.
“We Europeans must build this European sovereignty, the only way to ensure our independence and our security”, without a “neocolonial” Russia or a hegemonic temptation from NATO.