Macron says the 'worst is yet to come' after call with Putin: Source
After a call between France President Emmanuel Macron and Russia President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, an Elysée source said the risk of Russia's war extending beyond Ukraine to neighboring countries exists.
"The worst is yet to come," the source told reporters, saying France takes this under consideration in its exchanges with its partners
The Elysée source told reporters that the reality of Ukrainian power has nothing to do with Nazism and that Macron told Putin how much of a "lie" that is.
The two leaders spoke on the phone for an hour and a half, according to the Elysée.
The French president insisted this war will plunge Russia into isolation and that it will be under sanctions for a long time, according to the Elysée.
According to the Elysée source, Putin wants the neutralization and the demilitarization of Ukraine. He is ready to obtain it through negotiation if the Ukrainians are ready to do so, or continue the war until he achieves these objectives.
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The Kremlin echoed this in its statement.
"Putin set out in detail the principled approaches and conditions in the context of the talks with Kyiv's representatives. It was confirmed that [the talks] focused primarily on the demilitarization and neutral status of Ukraine, so that no threat would ever emanate from its territory to the Russian Federation," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin said the "objectives of the special military operation will be fulfilled any way, and that the attempts to play for time by dragging out the talks will only lead to our negotiating position presenting Kyiv with further demands."
Regarding the Ukrainian request for a 'no-fly' zone, the Elysée source said that the answer is not necessarily in the sky. These are tanks that deploy on Ukrainian soil. A no fly zone requires considerable resources and is not enough to prevent the risk of ground warfare.
“I know of only one case of a no fly zone that was effectively implemented, it was in Iraq after the first Gulf War to protect the Kurdish populations," said the Elysée source. "But you can see that we are in a different situation”.
- ABC News' Christine Theodorou and Ibtissem Guenfoud