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Ukrainian conflict unlikely to end soon, Macron says

According to the French president, "Russia cannot be expected to make diplomatic concessions in the coming weeks"

French President Emmanuel Macron AP Photo/Bob Edme

French President Emmanuel Macron

© AP Photo/Bob Edme

PARIS, April 8. /TASS/. The conflict in Ukraine will not end soon, French President Emmanuel Macron told the RTL radio station on Friday.

"Unfortunately, the conflict will not end soon," he said. "I believe that we will see a very difficult situation in Donbass in the coming days and weeks," Macron added. "This is why, together with Turkey, Greece and the UN, we are doing everything to organize humanitarian operations in the cities of Mariupol and Dnepr," the French president noted.

According to him, "Russia cannot be expected to make diplomatic concessions in the coming weeks." "It won’t happen until mid-May," Macron said, adding that Russia would mark Victory Day on May 9. The French president also emphasized that every day of hostilities "makes tomorrow harder." "There will be no peace in Europe if we don’t think about tomorrow," he stressed.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. In response, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries announced sanctions on Russian individuals and entities.

France will hold its two-round presidential election on April 10 and 24. According to opinion polls, Macron is going to win the first round, gaining 27% of the vote. National Rally President Marine Le Pen and founder of the La France Insoumise leftist party Jean-Luc Melenchon are expected to come second and third, respectively.

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