PARIS, August 27. /TASS/: The Western world needs Russia to build a new architecture of trust and security in Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said, addressing a French ambassadors conference at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday.
"We need partnership with Russia to build a new architecture of trust and security in Europe," Macron said. Pushing Russia away from Europe would be "a great strategic mistake," he pointed out.
"If we don’t take the necessary steps here in Europe, we will remain in an atmosphere of tensions, frozen conflicts and the consequences of the Cold War. In this case, we will keep on living in Europe as if it were a theater of a strategic standoff between the US and Russia," Macron said. In his view, "it is impossible to revive the European civilization without deeply reassessing ties with Russia."
The French president pointed out that the 1990s and 2000s had been marred by mutual distrust as Russia had viewed Europe "as kind of the West’s Trojan horse." "This is not in our interest," Macron emphasized.
He added that at his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin a decision had been made to create a working group to address issues related to the construction of a new European architecture of trust and security.
Need to cooperate in space and cybersecurity
French President Emmanuel Macron has also stressed the importance of cooperation with Russia in the sphere of space and cybersecurity. "We need to think over our space strategy together with Russia," he said on Tuesday. "Let’s not forget that in the course of our history, we have managed to do that. As for space, as far as I understand, our main allies are not Americans," the French leader stated. "Together, we need to think about cyber strategy," he noted.
The French president pointed out that so far, the sides "are very far from that." "However, we need to hold serious talks on this matter, we need to strive towards building an agenda of trust once again," Macron added.
Upcoming visit of French foreign, defense ministers to Russia
The foreign and defense ministers of France will soon visit Russia for talks, French President Emmanuel Macron told the French ambassadors conference at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday.
"The foreign minister and the minister of the armies will visit Moscow for talks in a few days," he said.
Consultations between the foreign and defense ministers of Russia and France have been suspended since 2014.
