France doesn’t want regime change in Russia – Macron

The US and its allies are not pursuing regime change in Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. Paris will still continue to provide aid to Kiev in its conflict with Moscow for as long as necessary, the French leader added.

Macron was speaking at a joint press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, having welcomed him at the Elysee Palace. Xi with both the French president and the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Xi and Macron discussed a broad range of topics, including the Ukraine conflict, as well as bilateral trade and economic ties.

During the talks, the French president urged the Chinese leader to make sure his nation does not provide any aid to Moscow that can be used in the conflict with Kiev. Macron said he welcomed Beijing’s commitments “to refrain from selling any arms” or provide “any aid” to Russia in the standoff.

Von der Leyen said “more effort is needed to curtail delivery of dual use goods to Russia that find their way to the battlefield,” while noting that “this does not affect EU-China relations.”

Macron said it is important to “explain the impact of this conflict on Europe's security and our determination to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.” At the same time, he stated that the West “does not have a common goal to bring about regime change in Moscow.”

The EU Commission head called on Beijing to “use all its influence on Russia” to stop the conflict. Macron said he is willing to “maintain a close dialogue” and welcomed Xi’s decision to visit France to “coordinate” the two nations’ positions ahead of the planned visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China later in May.

A meeting with the Chinese leader “will allow [us] to follow a common agenda and identify whether or not there is a will for a durable peace,” he said.

Xi criticized the West for distorting the image of his nation amid the conflict. “China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to it,” he told the joint press conference. “We reject the use of the Ukrainian crisis to cast blame upon others, smear third countries, and unleash a new Cold War. As history has repeatedly shown, conflicts can only be resolved by negotiations,” he said, adding that Beijing has “always played a positive role to bring about peace.”

The developments came just days after Macron once again raised the issue of sending NATO troops to Ukraine – an idea he has been openly contemplating since February, when he first mentioned the possibility.

Moscow has criticized these statements, warning that sending NATO troops to Ukraine would likely make a direct confrontation between the US-led bloc and Russia inevitable. It also slammed what it called the French leadership’s “belligerent rhetoric” and provocative statements regarding the Ukraine conflict, warning that they only lead to further escalation.