Zelenskyy on Macron's former desire to appease Putin: "I think he has changed"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that French President Emmanuel Macron has changed his mind on whether the West and Ukraine need to "save face" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has invaded Ukraine.
Source: President Zelenskyy in an interview with Le Figaro
Quote from Zelenskyy: "I think he [President Macron] has changed, this time he has really changed. After all, it was he who opened the door for tanks to be supplied [to Ukraine]. He also supported Ukraine’s application to join the EU. I think that was a real signal."
Details: Zelenskyy believes that a real trust now exists between Ukraine, France, and other international partners.
He also said that he was surprised by those second- and third-generation Russians in Europe who support Putin’s regime: "Russians who left their country during the 1917 revolution, all of the intelligentsia members who fled the communist regime, settled in Europe. But I am surprised to see that some of their descendants support Vladimir Putin while his actions have the same effect on their families as the actions of the communist regime in 1917."
According to Zelenskyy, everyone who believed that those Russians became Europeans turned out to be wrong.
Zelenskyy also expressed his opinion that even after Putin’s fall the world "will no longer talk to Russia the way it used to".
Quote from Zelenskyy: "The West will have to reconsider its politics towards Russia even if a new leader comes to power in Moscow. You have to change your attitude."
Background:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in France on the evening of Wednesday, 8 February, following his visit to the UK, his second foreign visit since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
- Zelenskyy headed to the Elysee Palace where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for dinner. Scholz arrived in Paris earlier the same day.
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