The two leaders spoke for more than an hour on Friday morning during a call that was described by the French side as “serious and respectful” which highlighted “fundamental differences” but also a “joint desire” to keep talking.
The conversation “enabled us to agree on the need for a de-escalation,” the aide said during a briefing with journalists.
France hosted more than eight hours of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Paris on Wednesday which were seen as a test of whether Putin wanted to lower tensions, having massed around 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.
“President Putin expressed no offensive plans and said he wanted to continue the talks with France and our allies,” the French official said on Friday, adding that the Russian leader “said very clearly that he did not want confrontation.”
Macron said earlier this week that Russia was behaving as a “power of disequilibrium” in the region but had also made clear he wanted to speak with Putin, whom he invited to France for talks during his summer holidays in 2019.
His relatively conciliatory tone has contrasted with the more strident rhetoric about the probability of a Russian invasion from France’s NATO allies the UK and United States.
“Now the ball is in Putin’s court,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio Friday before the phone call between the leaders. “Does he want to be the one to say that Russia is a power of disequilibrium, or is he ready to show de-escalation?” he asked.
“It’s up to Vladimir Putin to say if he wants confrontation or consultation. We are ready for consultation. But it still takes two to do it,” he said.
Le Drian said that there was “of course” still the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, warning that such a move would have “massive repercussions” for Moscow.
Later Friday, Macron also spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president reaffirmed “France’s full solidarity with Ukraine” and stressed the nation’s “determination to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country, in a context of high volatility”, the Elysee said.
“The two presidents agreed to continue efforts in favour of de-escalation and dialogue,” it added.
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All the same comments were made in the 30s when Germany invaded the Rhineland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Perhaps the next meeting could actually be held in Munich. Just waiting for the announcement of ‘Peace in our time’ and Putin to confirm ‘I have no more territorial claims in Europe’.
Are you being serious or just being confrontational? At least France is doing something positive, which is more than can be said of your court jester. The only thing he is interested in is to “throw” more British troops onto the fire.
France doesn’t represent NATO or the EU ( where there is no unified position ) and as a member of both cannot be a broker and can only demonstrate division. The British Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary are going to Moscow next week in Britain’s capacity as the UN appointed guarantors of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
I believe Putin has not stopped laughing at the thought of meeting Truss.😁😛
I doubt it. The Russian army is not very well equipped for conventional warfare and Trident could still turn Russia into a dustbowl if Putin’s mad enough to go nuclear.
But she’ll bring him some cheese!