President Emmanuel Macron described Vladimir Putin as “an ogre at us” and called Europeans to “not be naive” against Moscow.
Vladimir Putin is “a predator, an ogre at our doors” who “needs to continue to eat” for “his own survival”, warned Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, calling for Europeans to “not be naive” in front of Russia which will be “permanently a power of destabilization”.
“Since 2007-2008, the Russian president has rarely kept his commitments. It has constantly been a power of destabilization. And he sought to review the borders to extend his power, ”said the French president in an interview on LCI.
The French president thinks that “Russia has become a power of destabilization and a potential threat to many of us”.
“A country that invests 40% of its budget in such equipment, which has mobilized an army of more than 1.3 million men, will not return to a state of peace and an open democratic system overnight,” he warned.
“You must not be naive”
“So, including for his own survival, he needs to continue to eat. So. And so it’s a predator, it’s an ogre at our doors. I am not saying that as of tomorrow, it is France that will be attacked, but finally it is a threat to Europeans (…) You must not be naive, “insisted the head of state.
This interview was carried out at the end of the meeting in Washington between Donald Trump and several European leaders where the holding of a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin was announced.
But, in another interview with the American channel NBC News, Emmanuel Macron did not hide that he did not share Donald Trump’s optimism on the possibility of arriving at a peace agreement.
“When I look at the situation and the facts, I do not see President Putin wanting peace now but perhaps I am too pessimistic,” he said.
