Contents tagged with Macron

  • France plans to continue military presence in Syria and Iraq in 2019

    Speaking at a military base near Toulouse on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that French troops will continue to take part in the activities of the international coalition in Syria and Iraq despite the announced withdrawal of the US troops.

    The president addressed his speech being broadcast by his press service to military, “The retreat from Syria announced by our American friends cannot make us deviate from our strategic objective: eradicating Daesh, freeing all territories …

  • Macron and Putin discuss Kerch Strait incident

    French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Kerch crisis in a phone call, the official Kremlin website reports. 

    Putin told the press service that he and Macron had continued the “exchange of opinions” on the topic, but did not provide any further details on the discussion. 

    The two presidents also considered the problems of the Syrian situation in detail. 

    According to a communique from the Élysée Palace, Macron …

  • Merkel and Macron demand that Russia release Ukrainian sailors

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron demanded that Russia release the Ukrainian sailors who were on board the Ukrainian ships captured last month in the Kerch Strait.

    According to the Ukrainian side, Russia illegally seized two military boats and a tug. Kyiv accused Moscow of military aggression.

    “We demand safe, free and unimpeded transit for all ships through the Kerch Strait and the immediate and unconditional release of all illegally detained Ukrainian …

  • Kremlin: Putin explained attack on Ukrainian ships to Merkel and Macron

    During a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his German and French colleagues Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron a detailed explanation about the incident in the Kerch Strait, reported  Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, as cited by Interfax.

    “The president gave comprehensive explanations about the Black Sea border incident [at the meeting with Merkel], and demonstrated it clearly. He also demonstrated it clearly yesterday, at the meeting with …

  • Putin supports Macron's idea of forming a European army

    In an interview with RT France during his visit to Paris, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that French President Emmanuel Macron's idea of forming unified European armed forces reflects a “generally positive process”.

     “As for the alternative all-European armed forces, this is not a new idea. President Macron has reanimated it but one of the ex-presidents of France, Jacques Chirac, also told me about it. These ideas existed even before him,” Putin said.

     “Europe is a powerful economic …

  • Montenegro’s opposition leaders suspected of attempting a coup ask Putin and Macron for help

    The leaders of the opposition coalition "Democratic Front" of Montenegro, Milan Knezevich and Andrija Mandic wrote an open letter to the presidents of Russia and France, Serbian authorities, as well as the leaders of the PACE and the European Parliament. In the letter, the politicians claim that they and their supporters are subjected to prosecution, including judicial.

    Knezevich and Mandic believe that their case has political motives.

    They said that the court revoked their passports, which …

  • France accuses Russia of espionage in space

    Russia tried to intercept data from the French-Italian satellite, which is used by the armies of both countries to ensure communication security, said French Defense Minister Florence Parley and added that Paris considers such a step to be "espionage."

    The Russian satellite Olymp-K, part of Russian Luch Satellite Data Relay Network, approached the Athena-Fidus satellite so close that anybody would have thought it was trying to intercept our communication, Reuters quotes Parley as saying.

    She …

  • Macron proposes to reset relations with Russia

    During a visit to Finland, French President Emmanuel Macron said that "a full renewal" is needed in relations with Russia. 

    "I believe that we need a complete renewal of our relations with Russia set at the end of the Cold War. Our actions - both on the one hand and on the other - sometimes involve mistakes or misunderstandings that we inherited from the last two decades and that prevent us from making the right conclusions, "said Macron at a news conference with the Finnish President in …

  • Syrian army prepares for an air strike by the United States

    The Syrian air force was brought to full combat readiness throughout the country. The highest level of readiness was announced because of a possible air strike against Damascus by the US, reports news agency Al-Masdar News, referring to a source at the Mezzeh airbase (southwest of the Syrian capital).

    Earlier, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Major-General Igor Konashenkov said that the United States continues to build up military forces in the Middle East. …

  • Trump congratulates Ukraine on Independence Day

    President of the United States Donald Trump sent congratulations on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine to President Petro Poroshenko, said the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state on Thursday.

    "On behalf of the American nation, I want to congratulate you and the people of Ukraine on the 27th anniversary of your independence to be celebrated on August 24," stated the message.

    "The United States Government will continue to work with Ukraine and support efforts in …