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Macron showed intention to hold dialogue with Russia — Lavrov

On Friday, the French president emphasized that the policy of sanctions and countersanctions had brought nothing positive either to Russia or to Europe, noting that Europe was the most real partner for Russia given its geographic proximity
French President Emmanuel Macron AP Photo/Jens Meyer
French President Emmanuel Macron
© AP Photo/Jens Meyer

MUNICH, February 17. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron in his speech at the Munich Security Conference showed a pragmatic approach and intention to hold dialogue with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Monday.

"There are some proposals from France and France is showing true political and geopolitical wisdom, pragmatism and its wish to hold dialogue. This sounded along with all reservations, which President Macron made regarding his relation to sanctions and Russia in general. He called for accepting the reality: Russia exists and Russia influences many processes happening in the world. Moreover, Russia is close to Europe," Lavrov stated.

Paris has put forward particular proposals on launching strategic stability dialogue with Moscow, Lavrov told reporters. "You have mentioned his [French President Emmanuel Macron's] particular proposals on launching dialogue on the issue of security architecture with Russia. Yes, there have been some particular proposals," he specified.

According to Lavrov, some 99% of discussions at the conference focused on finding those to blame and those who would better outline their claims. "Certainly, against this background President Macron’s speech was absolutely wise, sober and aimed at searching for solutions, rather than an attempt to find those to blame and thus justify one’s own inaction," Lavrov noted.

During his speech at the Munich conference on Saturday, the French president once again called for developing dialogue with Moscow. He emphasized that the policy of sanctions and countersanctions had brought nothing positive either to Russia or to Europe, noting that Europe was the most real partner for Russia given its geographic proximity. The French leader also praised Russia’s role in the UN Security Council and recalled Putin’s proposal on holding a meeting of the UNSC permanent members.