Macron warns EU allies about trusting Putin, calls him 'ogre at our gates'
Macron's remarks came as Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looked set for a peace summit after fast-moving talks on Monday between Donald Trump and European leaders that focused on the key issue of long-term security guarantees for Kyiv.
"Putin has rarely honoured his commitments," Macron told the LCI broadcaster. "He has constantly been a force for destabilisation. He has sought to redraw borders to increase his power."
Macron said he did not believe that Russia would "return to peace and a democratic system from one day to the next".
Putin, "including for his own survival, needs to keep eating", Macron said. "That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Oil prices rise on drop in US crude inventories as investors focus on Ukraine peace push
NEW YORK :Oil prices climbed about 1 per cent on Wednesday on a bigger-than-expected weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories as investors awaited the next steps in talks to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now. Brent crude futures were up 56 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $66.35 a barrel by 10:48 a.m. EDT (1448 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 66 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $63.01. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms pulled 6.0 million barrels of crude from inventories during the week ended August 15. [EIA/S] That was bigger than the draw of 1.8 million barrels forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and the decline of 2.4 million barrels that market sources said the American Petroleum Institute trade group cited in its figures on Tuesday. "We had a decent-sized crude drawdown. We saw a rebound in exports ... That and the strong refinery demand really makes this a bullish report," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. On Tuesday, crude prices fell more than 1 per cent - with WTI closing at its lowest level since May 30 - on optimism that an agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war seemed closer. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal. "Not so sure about the peace deal - will have to see if something moves forward over the coming days ... It seems oil prices are thrown down one day, followed by a rebound the next," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. A day earlier, Trump said he was arranging a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. Russia has not confirmed it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy. "The likelihood of a quick resolution to the conflict with Russia now seems unlikely," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note on Wednesday.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Russia says talks on Ukraine's security without Moscow are a 'road to nowhere'
MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday (Aug 20) attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a "road to nowhere", sounding a warning to the West as it scrambles to work out guarantees for Kyiv's future protection. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov particularly criticised the role of European leaders who met United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine that could help to end the three-and-a-half-year-old war. Lavrov said Russia was in favour of "truly reliable" guarantees for Ukraine and suggested these could be modelled on a draft accord that was discussed between the warring parties in Istanbul in 2022, in the early weeks of the war. At the time, Kyiv rejected that proposal on the grounds that Moscow would have held effective veto power over any military response to come to its aid. "We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work," Lavrov told a joint news conference after meeting the foreign minister of Jordan. "I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it's a road to nowhere." Lavrov's comments highlighted Moscow's demand for Western governments to directly engage with it on questions of security concerning Ukraine and Europe, something it says they have so far refused to do. Moscow this week also restated its categorical rejection of "any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine". "CLUMSY" EUROPEANS Lavrov accused the European leaders who met Trump and Zelenskyy of carrying out "a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation, rather clumsy and, in general, unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the president of the United States personally ... We did not hear any constructive ideas from the Europeans there". Trump said on Monday the US would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the US might provide air support as part of a deal to end the hostilities. Lavrov said the proposals discussed between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022 were a "very good example" of a possible security blueprint, noting that they would also have required Ukraine to become a neutral state and give up its ambition to join NATO. Under the draft discussed then, Ukraine would have received security guarantees from a group of countries including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France. A partially agreed draft said the guarantor states - including Russia - would respect and observe Ukraine's independence and sovereignty and refrain from the threat or use of force against it. Ukraine wanted the guarantors, if it came under attack, to provide assistance that could include "closing airspace over Ukraine, providing necessary weapons, using armed force in order to restore and subsequently maintain the security of Ukraine as a permanently neutral state". But Russia insisted any decision must be agreed by all guarantor states - meaning Moscow would have a veto.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
India, Russia to strengthen "longstanding and time-tested" ties
Trade relations are at the front and centre of a trip to Russia by India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a three-day mission, as Delhi bolsters its own position amid tariff pressure from Washington over its growing dependence on crude oil from Russia. Ishan Garg and Dasha Chernyshova report.
