MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Moscow welcomes French president Emmanuel Macron’s willingness to maintain dialogue with Russia without ignoring the current differences, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said commenting on Macron’s interview with the Le Point weekly, in which he emphasized the importance of dialogue with Russia despite the differences on the Ukrainian issue.
"We have seen Macron’s interview," Peskov said. "We welcome the French president’s willingness to maintain dialogue with Russia. The intention is mutual as President Putin shares it, since there is a need to take the points of disagreement into consideration but refrain from connecting these differences to the prospects for boosting relations in general," the Russian Presidential Spokesman pointed out.
According to Peskov, Moscow also believes that "differences in views on some regional and global issues should not impede the continuing and expanding dialogue." "In this regard, Moscow’s position corresponds to the approach voiced by the French leader," he concluded.
In an interview with the Le Point weekly, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that dialogue with Russia should be enhanced despite the fact that the two countries had different stances on the Ukrainian issue. "As for Ukraine, our approaches are completely different," Macron said. "However, we agreed to continue dialogue between the civil societies [of France and Russia]," he noted. "We have been implementing the Trianon Dialogue project," Macron added. Besides, in his words, Paris and Moscow "agree on the climate policy," as Russian, according to Macron, "is ready to support" France in this field.
"I speak very directly and frankly with everyone," the French president said while clarifying his attitude to ways of holding dialogue on the international stage. "I try to define differences and points of agreement that could provide a basis for moving forward," he said.