Macron: France will not take aggressive initiatives against Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron announced in an interview with the Ukrainian Telethon channel yesterday that despite the desire of Paris to strongly support Kiev in negotiations to end the conflict, his country does not want to take aggressive initiatives against Russia.

He noted: We will not take the path of escalation, because we do not want another war, but we are ready to say that we have no limits and we will react depending on Russia’s actions.

Macron indicated that he is ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin about proposals to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine. He stated that he will “definitely” come to Ukraine and added: “When I physically arrive in Kyiv, it means that there will be a strong message and new directions of cooperation.”

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked a backlash in February after suggesting the US-led military bloc “cannot” rule out sending NATO troops to help Ukraine. Several member states, including the then president of Finland, quickly rejected Macron’s comments, stressing that the boots of European troops would not be on Ukrainian soil.