French President Emmanuel Macron is "pessimistic" after his exchange with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and Macron thinks that "the worst is yet to come" in Ukraine. The French and Russian presidents spoke on Thursday morning for nearly an hour-and-a-half over telephone. Putin stuck to his guns and refused any "compromise", BFMTV reported, quoting a spokesman for Macron.
The Russian President expressed "his great determination" to continue his offensive, the aim of which is "to take the control" of the whole country, the Elysee reported, according to BFMTV. During the discussion, the Russian President told his French counterpart that the operation of the Russian army is developing "according to the plan" and that it is going to be "worse "if the Ukrainians do not accept his conditions", the French presidency said.
Putin also confirmed that he intended to carry out a "denazification" of Ukraine, as he had announced ahead of the beginning of the war. "The President's (Macron) intuition is that the worst is yet to come given what President Putin told him," according to the Elysee. "The Russian ambition is to take all of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's war aims have not changed," said the same source, BFMTV reported.
Vladimir Putin once again warned Kyiv that any attempts to delay negotiations would result in Moscow adding more items to its list of demands. Putin said that Russia's goal is Ukraine's demilitarisation and neutral status.
Speaking to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Putin said that the goals of Russia's operation in Ukraine - its demilitarization and neutral status - will be achieved in any case, the Kremlin said, Reuters reported.
Putin said that any attempts by Kyiv to delay negotiations would result in Moscow adding more items to its list of demands.
Talking over the phone, Putin told Macron that Western countries and France did absolutely nothing to force Kyiv to comply with Minsk agreements.
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