Emmanuel Macron warns Russia against Belarus intervention after meeting with Angela Merkel
- French president says relations between EU and Russia at stake, cautions against repeat of 2014 occupation of Crimea
- Belarus prosecutors probe council pushing for strongman Lukashenko’s ouster after disputed election
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned against any aggressive Russian intervention in neighbouring Belarus, saying relations between the EU and Russia were at stake.
Large protests have broken out in Belarus since President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election in an August 9 vote that has been condemned as unfair by the opposition and the EU.
Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was visiting his Mediterranean coastal retreat of Bregancon for talks, Macron said he, Merkel and European Council President Charles Michel had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin several times about the issue.
They were “convinced that stability, and the possibility of a relationship between the European Union and Russia, depend on this issue too”, Macron said.
Macron warned against any repeat of the situation in Ukraine, where the toppling in 2014 of a pro-Russian president was followed by pro-Russian rebellions in the east of the country and the Russian occupation of the Crimea region.
