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.
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