Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “predator, a huge llama at our gates“ that “must keep eating to survive“, French President Emmanuel Macron said today, urging Europeans “not to be naive“ towards Russia, which he said would remain “a permanently destabilizing force“, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reports.
“Since 2007-2008, during the Russian intervention in Georgia, President Putin has rarely kept his promises. He has been a constant destabilizing force and has sought to redraw borders to "has expanded its power," the French president said in an interview with L'Equipe television.
Macron stressed that "Russia has become a permanently destabilizing force and a potential threat to many of us."
"A country that invests 40 percent of its budget in military equipment and has mobilized an army of over 1.3 million people will not return to peace and an open democratic system overnight," he warned.
"So, including for his own survival, Putin must continue to eat. That's it. So, he is a predator, he is a huge dragon at our gates. I'm not saying that France will be attacked tomorrow, but this is a threat to Europeans [...] We must not be naive," Macron added.
In another interview with the American television network NBC, the French president made no secret of the fact that he does not share the optimism Donald Trump on the possibility of reaching a peace agreement.
“When I look at the situation and the facts, I don't see President Putin wanting peace at the moment, but maybe I'm too pessimistic“, Macron said.