“He is very offended” – Macron tries to explain Putin’s actions in the interview

Macron, however, tried to reconstruct Putin’s motives, denying that understanding them does not mean agreeing with his actions.

According to the French president, the Russian president has a “great resentment”. “He feels we haven’t respected him enough since the 1990s,” Macron said.

He also believes Putin may have been hit by prolonged isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the winter, Putin received most of the leaders who came to him for talks, including Macron himself, at an extremely long table, sitting at a great distance from them and avoiding handshakes.

Macron called Putin’s decision to mobilize in Russia a “mistake”. “A few months ago Putin said: NATO is treating us aggressively, I was just reacting to the situation. But now it is clear to everyone that President Putin was the leader who decided to start the war,” Macron said.

He assured that Western countries will continue to support Ukraine and stressed that Ukraine should make decisions on the terms of peace. At the same time, Macron spoke about the talks with Russia, including Putin, noting that thanks to his telephone talks with Russian presidents it was possible, for example, to send the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

Macron also announced threats to liberal democracy, including in the West, noting that democracy is threatened by both autocratic regimes and internal problems related to the rise of populist and nationalist sentiments.

Macron is one of the few Western leaders to dialogue with Putin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, he admitted that talking to the Russian president is not easy for him, suggesting that Putin is often cunning and false.

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