Calls President Macron Waste of Time Consider Dialogue with Moscow, Zelensky: We Can't Change Russia's Attitude

President Macron welcomes President Zelensky in Paris. (Twitter/@EmmanneelMacron)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on Sunday, French leader Emmanuel Macron was wasting time considering dialogue with Russia.

President Zelenskiy, interviewed by Italian daily Corriere della Sera, responded to French Leader Macron's suggestion that Russia should be "defeated but not destroyed", calling the conflict in Ukraine to be resolved through negotiations.

The two leaders of the country are known to have spoken by telephone on Sunday.

"This would be a useless dialogue. The fact is Macron is wasting time. I have come to the conclusion that we cannot change Russia's attitude," President Zelensky said, as quoted by Reuters on February 20.

"If they have decided to isolate themselves in the dream of rebuilding the old Soviet empire, we can do nothing. It is up to them to choose or not to cooperate with the community of nations on the basis of mutual respect," said President Zelensky.

He rejected suggestions that Western sanctions had isolated Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It was precisely the decision to launch the war that pushed Putin aside," he was quoted as saying.

On Friday, President Macron urged allies to increase military support for Ukraine.

He also said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche that he does not believe in regime change, that there is little chance of a democratic solution from within Russian civil society, there is no alternative to bringing President Putin back to the negotiating table.

These comments prompted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to say France should remember the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in Russia in the 19th century.

President Macron has previously drawn criticism from some NATO allies for conveying mixed messages regarding his policies in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

In explaining their conversation on Sunday, President Zelensky made no mention of Macron's recent comments. The two leaders discussed strategy, including a joint decision that President Zelensky said would be taken ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion this week.

Before a brief visit to Paris this month, President Zelensky said the French president's tougher stance on Russia in recent months indicated significant changes.