Macron is ‘wasting his time’ with Putin – POLITICO

French President Emmanuel Macron is losing his time speaking to Russian chief Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

“It’s a ineffective dialogue. In fact, Macron is losing his time,” Zelenskyy mentioned throughout an interview with a number of Italian newspapers.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re unable to alter the Russian angle,” Zelenskyy added. “It is as much as them to decide on whether or not to cooperate with the worldwide group.”

Macron has been criticized by Zelenskyy up to now for his makes an attempt to maintain traces of communication open with Moscow because the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In remarks remodeled the weekend in the course of the Munich Safety Convention, Macron mentioned that he had not spoken to Putin since final September, including that “now [was] not the time for dialogue.”

However, a day later, Macron added that though he wished for the Kremlin to lose, the battle would finish not on the battlefield however with peace talks — and that France would “by no means” help “crushing Russia.”

In the identical interview with Italian media, Zelenskyy additionally reacted paradoxically to the current statements from former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who triggered an inside revolt amongst European conservatives final week after he mentioned the Ukrainian president was accountable for the battle.

Berlusconi, who has described himself as a detailed pal of Putin, was heard boasting about receiving bottles of vodka from Putin for his birthday in audio tapes leaked to the press.

“He likes vodka? If that’s the case, we have now a few of the most interesting high quality in Ukraine — we will supply him some,” Zelenskyy mentioned.

The Ukrainian president additionally commented on current reviews from the U.S. that China was able to send weapons to Russia, saying he hoped Beijing would preserve a “pragmatic method,” to keep away from a “Third World Conflict.”

Elena Giordano contributed reporting.