With Putin at his side, Macron rips Russian ‘propaganda’
VERSAILLES, France — Flexing his diplomatic muscles, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had “extremely frank” and “direct” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday and launched an extraordinary attack on two state-funded Russian media outlets he accused of spreading “lying propaganda” during France’s presidential campaign.
Macron’s full-on blast at the state news agency Sputnik and broadcaster Russia Today came at a news conference with Putin standing at his side. His comments fulfilled the French president’s campaign promises to pull no punches with Russia when needed.
But after more than two hours of meetings, both leaders also signaled a shared desire not to let disagreements define their fledgling relationship. The fight against terrorism, in particular, appeared to offer common ground.
Putin said Macron proposed a framework for French and Russian anti-terror experts to meet and work together. And both leaders agreed they don’t want Syria — where Russia is propping up the government of President Bashar Assad — to collapse into a failed state.
But there was no disguising the rifts.
Macron said he spoke to Putin about LGBT rights in the Russian republic of Chechnya and about the rights of embattled nongovernmental organizations in Russia, vowing to be “vigilant” on these issues.
Any use of chemical weapons in Syria is a “red line” for France and would be met by “reprisals” and an “immediate riposte” from the government, Macron said.
On Sputnik and Russia Today, Macron showed little restraint, saying the two organizations spread “untruths about me and my campaign” during the French election.
“I will not give an inch on this,” he said. “Russia Today and Sputnik ... behaved as organs of influence, of propaganda, of lying propaganda.”
Putin also hosted Macron’s far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, at the Kremlin in March.
“That doesn’t mean that we tried to influence the results of the election,” Putin said. “Besides, that is almost impossible.”