MOSCOW – French President Emmanuel Macron, the main Western leader to visit Moscow since Russia began massing troops on the Ukrainian border, told Vladimir Putin at the start of talks in the Kremlin on Monday that he intended to avoid war. and build trust.
Macron, who is expected to seek re-election in April, has positioned himself as a possible mediator in Ukraine, with Paris expressing skepticism about predictions from Washington, London and other Western capitals that a Russian attack is imminent.
Macron told the Russian president that he was looking for a useful response “that of course allows us to avoid war and build trust, stability, visibility.” Putin, for his part, said that Russia and France share “a common concern about what is happening in the field of security in Europe.”
“I see the efforts that the current leadership of France and the president personally are applying to resolve the crisis related to equitable security provision in Europe for serious historical perspective,” Putin said.
On the eve of his trip to Moscow, Macron told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper: “Russia’s geopolitical goal today is clearly not Ukraine, but to clarify the rules of coexistence with NATO and the EU.”
Upon arrival, Macron told reporters: “I am reasonably optimistic, but I don’t believe in spontaneous miracles.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said before the talks: “The situation is too complex to expect decisive breakthroughs in the course of a meeting.”
Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. He denies planning an invasion, but Putin has said Moscow is willing to take unspecified “military-technical measures” if its concerns are not addressed.
The United States and NATO have rejected Russian demands to scrap Ukraine’s NATO membership and withdraw its forces from eastern Europe. Instead, they have offered to discuss arms control and confidence measures, but Moscow says this does not go far enough.
AREA OF INFLUENCE
In London, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russian concerns about possible NATO aggression are “fundamentally unfounded, as NATO is a defensive alliance at its heart.”
However, Russia views NATO ‘s addition of 14 new Eastern European members since the end of the Cold War as an invasion of its sphere of influence and a threat to its security.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged unequivocal support for Ukraine on Monday on her second trip to Kiev in three weeks.
| NEWS | WORLD | LATEST |