Macron should apologize
French President Emmanuel Macron should apologize for making 'misleading' claims about the origins of the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told RT. In particular, Zakharova criticized Macron for alleging that Russia was to blame for the failure of the Minsk Accords.
The agreements were brokered in 2014 and 2015 to halt fighting between Ukraine and the now-Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, with France and Germany as guarantors. They were ultimately not implemented, and Moscow later accused Kiev and the West of using them to strengthen Ukraine's military instead of securing peace.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Macron, however, blamed Russia of violating the accords and cited them as proof that the West 'can no longer take Russia at its word' when it comes to resolving the conflict.
'We cannot forget that Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and that we negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk at that time. And Russia did not respect this ceasefire,' the French president alleged, claiming that Moscow poses a direct threat to France and the entire EU.
Zakharova condemned Macron's comments as 'aggressive and destructive' and pointed out that former French President François Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have 'openly confessed, and not under torture or pressure' back in 2022 they never intended to enforce the accords.
'Macron should invite his predecessor… Hollande, to the Élysée Palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him… Then he'll probably hear from Hollande... that he had no intention of implementing the Minsk agreements while representing France,' Zakharova stated, suggesting that after speaking to Hollande, Macron would 'have to apologize to his own population for misleading them.'
Macron has been a vocal advocate of strengthening Europe's defenses against Russia and reiterated this position in his latest address. Moscow, however, has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack either the EU or NATO, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing such speculation as 'nonsense' on multiple occasions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russian assets freeze has backfired on the West
The freezing of Russian sovereign assets as part of Western sanctions has undermined trust in global financial systems, according to Maksim Oreshkin, deputy head of President Vladimir Putin's the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US and EU have frozen more than $300 billion in Russian state assets. In May, the EU approved a plan to channel profits from those assets to support Ukraine, while some member states have pushed for outright an interview aired Sunday on Rossiya-1, Oreshkin argued that the move has backfired. 'This whole situation is a major blow to the Western financial system and Western countries,' he said. 'This isn't something that might happen - it already has. The damage is done.' Putin echoed this sentiment during a recent visit to Belarus, warning that the 'theft' of Russian assets would prompt other countries to abandon Western financial institutions. 'This shift will undoubtedly be irreversible,' he said. 'Overall, it would benefit the global economy. Perhaps it's even worth the cost.'Moscow has repeatedly warned that seizing its funds would violate international law. Legal and political concerns - particularly over sovereign immunity and property rights - have so far prevented the EU from endorsing full confiscation.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
West will never succeed in attempts to defeat Russia
Western war-hawks will not succeed in inflicting a 'strategic defeat' on Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. He made the remark during talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Jeenbek Kulubaev, on Sunday during an official visit to Kyrgyzstan. According to Lavrov, NATO and the EU are using the Ukraine conflict as a weapon against Russia. 'We are witnessing an unprecedented confrontation between our country and the collective West, which has decided to once again go to war against us and inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, essentially using the Nazi regime in Kiev as a battering ram,' he stated. 'The West has never succeeded in this, and it will not succeed this time either.' Lavrov said many Western policymakers 'are beginning to guess' that their hawkish approach to Russia is futile, without elaborating. His remarks echo Moscow's earlier warnings against Western support for the Kiev regime and militarization by NATO and the EU. At a recent EU summit in Brussels, most member states backed more sanctions and aid for Ukraine. Hungary, however, vetoed the final statement and blocked Kiev's EU accession talks. Russia previously took a neutral stance on Ukraine's EU bid, calling it a 'sovereign right' as long as it remains an economic bloc. But with Brussels ramping up military spending, Russian officials have grown critical. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former President Dmitry Medvedev has said the EU is now 'no less of a threat' to Russia than NATO. Moscow considers NATO expansion toward its borders to be a major national security threat, and has said the military bloc's support for Ukrainian membership is one of the root causes of the conflict. Russian officials slammed the bloc's decision this week for member states to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, which was presented as a way to deter the alleged 'long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.' Moscow has denied that it has any intention of attacking Western states, dismissing the claims as 'nonsense' used to justify a military buildup. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of fabricating threats to extract money from citizens of member states.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
West waging ‘centuries-old war' against Moscow – Russia's top UN diplomat
Western nations are using Ukraine as their proxy in a longstanding confrontation with Russia, which is deeply rooted in history, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has told RT's Rick Sanchez. In an interview on Sanchez Effect aired on Friday, Nebenzia argued that the conflict 'should be seen in a larger context.' 'They do not care about Ukraine. This is not a war between Russia and Ukraine,' he said. 'Ukraine is a proxy in this war. This is a centuries-old war of the West against Russia, starting with the Polish invasion in the 17th century.' Nebenzia cited Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the 1854-56 Crimean War, Western military intervention during the Russian Civil War, and the invasion by Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. He stressed that Hitler's army included not only Germans, but also units drawn from allied countries and occupied territories. The Ukrainians and 'their sponsors' in the West sabotaged the 2014-15 Minsk accords, which were aimed at ending the conflict between Kiev and the breakaway Donbass republics, the Russian diplomat said. Former French President Francois Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel later admitted that the agreement was used by Kiev to buy time and rearm, Nebenzia stated. 'We are not going [to fall] into the same trap once again,' he said. He added that politicians such as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson similarly helped derail the 2022 peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's European backers were forced to adjust their position, Nebenzia argued, after US President Donald Trump launched efforts to broker peace and Ukrainian troops began losing more ground. 'They changed their rhetoric from 'We should inflict strategic defeat on Russia' to 'Russia should not win in this war.' Now they are advocating for a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, which is testimony that they want to shield and protect their proxy, as they are obviously losing on the battlefield,' he said. Nebenzia added that the resumption of direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations earlier this year provides hope that the conflict will be resolved soon.
