MUNICH – French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called on Vladimir Putin to tell him last year that the paramilitary Wagner Group had nothing to do with Russia.
“A year ago I spoke with Putin and he assured me that Russia has nothing to do with the Wagner Group,” he told an audience at the Munich Security Conference. “I accepted that. Today we see that the Wagner Group is involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine. This means that Russia is simply a mafia state.
Macron’s speech came as the country’s leaders and security officials gathered for a three-day event in the Bavarian capital, a conference dominated by the West’s efforts on how to support Kiev against Russian aggression.
The French president said the time was not right for talks with Russia and called on Western countries to “intensify” support for the Ukrainian counteroffensive. But he suggested that – when negotiations would end the war on terms acceptable to Kiev – Europe and Russia should “strike an imperfect balance” on the continent.
“It is time for a change,” Macron said, suggesting Russia and its opponents would need to agree on a new regional security framework, calling it an “imperfect balance”.
But he stressed that the time was not right for talks, noting that it was “too early” to build such a Europe-Russia understanding.
The comments reflect Macron’s long-standing approach Security guarantees for Russia are an “essential” component of any peace talks, Moscow would have to be satisfied with how the war ends, otherwise any deal would be no more than a ceasefire and not a treaty, he argues.
Laura Kayali contributed reporting.