Macron explains what he expects from Putin and Russian politics
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that it was France’s goal to allow Russia to strengthen its position in Europe and not to fall into isolation. He said he would like to maintain “historic dialogue" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Putin dreams of Russia reemerging as a great power under the influence of humiliation because of the events around the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR... I can understand that. But for me, Russia is Europe, even if Russia has almost never known the democracy in which we live," Macron said in an interview with French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.
He stressed that he is counting on constructive dialogue with Putin, but "without any naiveté" and that he "will not tolerate attempts to interfere in the affairs of his country." Paris needs cultural, scientific and political ties with Moscow to jointly overcome the problems of the world, Macron added.
Earlier, on April 30, Macron and Putin discussed during their phone conversation Iran's nuclear program and the situation in Syria.