Russia reacted sharply to the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, who in an interview last week called Vladimir Putin "a monster (ogre) at our doorstep".
On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the French leader often makes "strange statements" that sometimes cross the line of decency and turn into "offensive qualifications". "This is unworthy of a head of state," Zakharova stressed, quoted by "Reuters".
Macron responded to the criticism during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He said he was not using vulgar language, but simply describing the feelings of peoples who have been victims of Russian actions. "When we say that there is a monster at the gates of Europe - an expression used by many - I think it characterizes the deep feelings of Georgians, Ukrainians and other nations who have experienced a Russian invasion," the French president said.
Relations between Russia and France in recent years have been marked by increasing tension. Before the start of the war in Ukraine, Macron tried to maintain a dialogue with Putin, including through numerous phone calls and personal meetings, but over time, Paris took an increasingly hard line, supporting military aid to Kiev and demanding increased sanctions against Moscow. This provoked a sharp reaction from the Kremlin, which regularly accuses France of "anti-Russian rhetoric" and "inciting confrontation".