French President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, May 9, 2022. REUTERS / Lisi Niesner / File Photo
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PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said it was vital that Russia not be humiliated so that when the fighting in Ukraine stopped, a diplomatic solution could be found, adding that he believed Paris would play a mediating role. to end the conflict.
Macron has sought to maintain a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. His position has been repeatedly criticized by some Eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see it as undermining efforts to pressure Putin to sit at the negotiating table.
“We must not humiliate Russia so that on the day the fighting stops, we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means,” Macron said in an interview with regional newspapers on Saturday. “I am convinced that France’s role is to be a mediating power.”
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Macron has spoken to Putin regularly since the invasion as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire and start credible talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
“I think and I told him that he was making a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history,” Macron said.
France has supported Ukraine militarily and financially, but so far Macron has not been to Kyiv to offer symbolic political support like other EU leaders, something Ukraine wanted to do. Macron said he did not rule out going.
Paris sends offensive weapons, including the Caesar howitzer, taken from the French army’s stockpile. Macron said he had asked arms manufacturers to speed up production.
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Report by John Irish Edited by Francis Carey
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