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French President Emmanuel Macron said it was vital that Russia was not humiliated so that a diplomatic solution could be found when the fighting in Ukraine stopped.
He added that he believes Paris would play a mediating role in ending the conflict.
Macron has sought to maintain a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
His stance has been repeatedly criticized by some Eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see it as undermining efforts to put Putin at the negotiating table.
“We must not humiliate Russia, so that on the day the fighting stops, we can build a platform for diplomatic exit,” Macron said in an interview with regional newspapers published on Saturday.
“I am convinced that France’s role is to be a mediating power,” he said.
Macron has spoken regularly with Putin since the invasion, as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire and start credible negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.
“I think and I told him he was making a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history,” Macron said.
France has supported Ukraine militarily and financially, but so far Macron has not been in Kiev to offer symbolic political support like other EU leaders, something Ukraine has asked him to do. Macron said he had not ruled out the possibility of visiting there./REL
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