French President Emmanuel Mekhwan has said that if the war in Ukraine stops, Russia must not be ridiculed in order to find a political solution.
In an interview on Saturday, the French president said his country could play a role in mediating the dispute.
Emmanuel Mekhwan is the only ruler of any major European country to have been in contact with President Putin in Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and for this reason he has faced criticism from the governments of Eastern European countries and the Baltic states.
“We must not ridicule Russia so that when the war is over we can use diplomatic means to get out of it,” he said. I believe that France will play a mediating role in this conflict. “
“I think, and I told President Putin that he has made a big and fundamental mistake in his people, for himself and in history,” he said of his contacts with the Russian president.
Ukraine reacted to the French president’s statement, saying it would “ridicule” France.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kliba tweeted after Mekhwan’s interview that “to say that Russia should not be ridiculed would be to ridicule France and every country that would say so.” Because it is Russia that is making fun of itself. “
“We need to focus on how to get Russia in its place. That way, there will be peace and human lives will be saved. “
France has provided military and financial support to Ukraine, but President Mekhwan has not yet visited Kyiv, where he has symbolically expressed his support, as other European leaders have done. The French president did not rule out such a visit.
French-made artillery has also been sent to Ukraine, and Mekhwan has called on military equipment companies to increase production.