President Emmanuel Macron placed great emphasis on Russia during his annual speech in front of French diplomats on Tuesday (27 August), telling ambassadors that “Europe would disappear” if it fails to rethink its strategy towards Russia.
Considering that the US, Russia and China are all fighting for hegemony, Macron stressed that Europe could either decide to be “minority allies of one or the other, or to take its part in the game”.
“We cannot rebuild Europe without rebuilding a connection with Russia, otherwise Russia will move closer to other powers,” he said, a few days after welcoming Vladimir Putin to the Fort of Brégançon, an invitation some observers deemed unnecessary.
“Some of our allies will always push us towards imposing more sanctions, but that is not in our interest. We need to build an ‘architecture of trust’ in Europe,” the French president insisted.
“Russia’s GDP is equivalent to that of Spain, and it has a declining population. Do you think anyone can last that way? We need to offer a strategic option to this country, which it will inevitably need,” he said.
During his meeting with Vladimir Putin, the French President was accused of not having prompted the Russian leader to shift his position on Ukraine, which is the main subject of contention with Europe. Läs artikel