French President Emmanuel Macron. File photoMOSCOW, 8 Mar. French President Emmanuel Macron, at a meeting with voters, called for respect for Russia, Figaro quotes the head of state.
"Our duty is to continue talking with the Russian and Belarusian people", as well as " ;with their leaders" and "always respect Russia as a country", — Macron quotes the publication.
According to the head of France, dialogue with Moscow is necessary for common European security.
"You cannot build a lasting peace if Russia will not participate in building a large-scale security architecture on our continent", the French leader emphasized.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, civilian the population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But there is no question of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian President emphasized.