French president says he has always been in favour of dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the US-Russia summit in Geneva on June 16. He said this at a press conference on Sunday following the G7 summit, stressing that he has always been in favour of dialogue with Russia.
“I welcome this summit, it’s a good thing”, – he said, answering questions from journalists. – “I have always been in favour of dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
According to Macron, “it is always better to talk when there is disagreement.” The forthcoming summit, he believes, “will clarify the differences regarding behaviour in the cybersphere, in space, in the sea”.
Asked who the adversary was for NATO today, Macron said it was “any power that encroaches on the territorial integrity of the members of the alliance, threatening their security”.
“It is also Islamist terrorism”, – Macron stressed. – “It is this threat that explains NATO’s presence as part of the coalitions in Iraq and Syria.”
The French president also spoke out in favour of European participation in arms control negotiations.
“I suggested to US President Joe Biden that we work together on a new arms control agenda”, – he pointed out. – “We need to agree together on an international culture of arms control. We are no longer living in the Cold War era and there should be Europeans at the arms control negotiating table”, – the French leader said.