Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron concluded talks in the Kremlin, their meeting lasted more than five hours. TASS reports this.
Photo: kremlin.ru
Putin said that they had spoken with Macron about the situation around Ukraine. According to him, NATO «continues to pump Ukraine» with weapons. “They are still trying to reassure Russia that NATO is a peaceful organization, while at the same time, in the military strategy of the alliance, Moscow is designated as an adversary,” the president noted. Putin was also surprised that the movement of Russian weapons across Russia is causing a stir.
The President of Russia also touched upon the internal situation in Ukraine — in particular, he called the prosecution of Poroshenko as a «state criminal» excessive and expressed concern about the legislative consolidation of «discrimination against the Russian-speaking population.» Putin also said that «Kyiv ignores all possibilities for the peaceful restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine through dialogue with the Donbass.»
< p>Emmanuel Macron called the talks «meaningful». He said that Russia and France have different views, which must be understood and accepted, and at the same time called for reducing tension around Ukraine.
“NATO, USA, we will continue to negotiate with all partners to build peace and security guarantees:
limitation of military deployment, other weapons and transparency,” he said.
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Macron also said that he opposes the revision of existing security agreements «at the expense of infringing on the rights of Europeans.» » alt=»» />
Screenshot: TASS/YouTube
“We tried to find points where our positions converge. We need to work quickly to avoid escalation. Now the tension is increasing and this increases the risk of destabilization. Neither Russia nor the Europeans want chaos and instability when the peoples have suffered so much from the epidemic. Therefore, we need to agree on specific measures,» the French President said.
Macron also stressed that they continue negotiations in the Normandy format to implement the Minsk agreements — «to resolve the situation in Donbass.» In addition, the presidents touched upon the «Iranian issue.» In the near future they intend to have another conversation — by phone.