Ukraine: Macron says he obtained from Putin “that there is no degradation and escalation”

MOSCOW (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, the day after his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that he had obtained “no deterioration and escalation” in the crisis in Ukraine.

“I got that there is no degradation and escalation,” he told reporters on board the presidential plane taking him to Ukraine for a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky. .

The head of state, who said he did not expect “a single second” that the Russian president would make “gestures” during their bilateral meeting, said he had achieved his goal.

“It was for me to block the game to prevent an escalation and open up new perspectives (…) This objective for me is fulfilled,” he said.

(Michel Rose report with pool, written by Myriam Rivet, edited by Bertrand Boucey)