The international community must draw “clear red lines” with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said, including the imposition of sanctions following “unacceptable behavior” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he said sanctions alone are not enough.
In an interview with Margaret Brennan, Face The Nation moderator, Macron said he “fully” said Mr. Biden shares to enter into a dialogue with Russia. However, he said it was important to be clear with Putin “if we are not aligned”.
“This is the only way to be credible. I think sanctions are not enough in and of themselves, but sanctions are part of the package. I prefer constructive dialogue, but constructive and efficient dialogue requires credibility. , ‘Said Macron.
More than 30,000 Russian soldiers are gathered at the border with Ukraine, raising concerns that Russia could invade. This is the highest number of Russian troops to have gathered at the border since 2014. Macron agrees with President Biden that this is an unacceptable level of tension.
“I think we need to define clear red lines with Russia,” Macron said to be credible. He recognized that the international community has taken what he called a “naive approach” with Russia.
“I think what happened a few years ago when Ukraine was invaded, it is not a failure of diplomacy, it is a failure of our collective credibility towards Russia,” Macron said in reference to the failure of the international community to implement the Obama- The Biden administration’s “red line” on the use of chemical weapons by Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad in 2013. That failure, Macron said, encouraged Putin.
Months later, Russia annexed Crimea, a peninsula jutting into the Black Sea away from Ukraine in 2014. The annexation was widely condemned by the international community, and the US sanctioned Russia in response.
On Thursday, Mr Biden announced more sanctions against Russia this week in retaliation for espionage and political interference, citing both SolarWinds’ cyberhacking and Moscow’s interference in the 2020 US presidential election.
“We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere with impunity in our democratic process,” Mr Biden said in his remarks on Thursday’s announcement of the sanctions, although he added that “now is the time to de- escalate. “
According to a White House reading of their phone call Tuesday, President Biden also called on Vladimir Putin to “ease tensions” around Russia’s military build-up in “occupied Crimea and on the borders of Ukraine.”
The full interview with Macron will air on “Face The Nation” on Sunday at 10:30 am ET.