French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday accused Russia of being “a destabilizing power in Africa”, regretting that Moscow’s choices “do not play a beneficial role for the international community”, during an interview on France Info/RFI/France 24 on the sidelines of the Paris summit. The Head of State points the finger at the “private militias who come to predate and extort civilian populations”, recalling that “this has been documented by the United Nations in the Central African Republic through the Wagner militia”.
According to him, “Russia has put itself on its own in a position of no longer respecting international law, of becoming basically one of the only colonial powers of the 21st century, by waging a war of empire with of its neighbour, Ukraine”.
If the Russian President calls him tomorrow? “Of course, I pick up”, nevertheless assured Emmanuel Macron. “If he calls me to propose something, I will take it, because France has always been a facilitating and mediating power. But, he qualified, “the resumption of dialogue is only possible if there is respect for international law, which is the only one that allows us to live in peace”. He also repeated that he himself had “no reason to call today” Vladimir Putin, in the midst of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. “The time will come, I hope, for negotiations on Ukrainian terms. »
Emmanuel Macron also spoke of a “complete consensus” to “in-depth reform” the global financial system to make it “more efficient, fairer and more adapted to today’s world”, at the end of the Paris summit which brought together for two days some forty Heads of State and Government.
“We must start the work now,” added the Head of State, announcing a “follow-up meeting” in Paris in two years on this “new consensus” to better arm ourselves financially in the fight against poverty and global warming.
He also called on Friday for a “mobilization” to put in place international taxes on financial transactions, air tickets and maritime transport to finance the fight for the climate and against poverty. “Help us find all the countries that today don’t have FTTs (financial transaction taxes, editor’s note) and that today don’t have taxes on airline tickets. Help us mobilize at the International Maritime Organization in July for there to be international taxation”, launched the President of the Republic, stressing that “international taxation in a single country does not work”.