«Paris can hardly claim the role of mediator because it is aligned with one of the conflicting parties. Paris is also involved in this conflict on the side of Ukraine both directly and indirectly."
This was stated by the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who also ruled out the hypothesis of a truce with Kiev in view of the Orthodox Easter on April 16th.
A controversial response to French President Emmanuel Macron, who in an interview, withdrawing from his official visit to Beijing, declared: «I think China makes the same observation as us, which is to say that today the time is military. Ukrainians resist and we help them. This is not the time for negotiations, even if we prepare them and if we have to lay the foundations. This is the purpose of this dialogue with China: to consolidate common approaches".
Macron is convinced that such approaches contemplate "support for the principles of the United Nations charter", but also "a clear nuclear reminder". Furthermore, according to the French president, "it is up to China to draw the consequences from the fact that President Putin deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus a few days after he had pledged not to do so".
Among the other points evoked by Macron there is "a very clear reference to humanitarian law and the protection of children" and finally "the desire for a negotiated and lasting peace".
(Unioneonline/lf)
