Macron Calls for Respecting Russia, Its People

By Staff, Agencies

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Russia and its people should be treated with respect amid the situation in Ukraine, because a long-lasting peace is impossible without Russia's participation.

"We are responsible for maintaining all possible human ties: to continue talking with the Russian and Belarusian peoples with the help of artists, intellectuals, cooperation in the technical sphere, business and NGOs ... this is my task to continue talking with the leaders, even if we have differences ... and always respect Russia as a country and the Russian people," Macron said at a pre-election meeting in the commune of Poissy.

Macron stressed that it would be impossible to talk about an enduring peace if Russia is not a part of the "great peace architecture" of the European continent.

On 24 February, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

Amid Russia's ongoing operation, a wave of Russophobic sentiment has passed in the EU countries, including attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, organizations and citizens. On 7 March, the representative office of the Russian Agency for International Humanitarian Cooperation [Rossotrudnichestvo] in Paris was attacked. The same day, a truck crashed at the gates of the Russian Embassy in Dublin.