Emmanuel Macron praised the “courage” of Russians who came in their thousands to Moscow, Russia, to attend the funeral of Alexei Navalny on Friday, March 1, despite the risk of arrest. Vladimir Putin's main critic died on February 16 at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison under unclear circumstances. He was buried at Borisovo Cemetery in Moscow surrounded by some of his relatives, AFP reported. “It took courage to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny. Thousands of Russians didn't miss it. His legacy is there. Eternal memory,” the French president wrote in a message on the social network Direct.
The head of state will bring together party leaders on the issue of Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron will bring together the leaders of political parties at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, March 7, to discuss “the situation in Ukraine,” AFP learned on Friday from the presidential office and several political leaders. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the format of the “Saint Denis meetings” already chaired in recent months by the President of the Republic with the leaders of the majority and opposition parties represented in Parliament, the Elysée said. confirming information from Le Figaro.
“Anything to avoid war.” France is doing everything to prevent a collapse of Ukraine without waging war against Russia, the head of French diplomacy emphasized in an interview on France Inter radio. “Everything we do is to avoid war and of course not to cause a certain level of concern to the French,” assured Stéphane Séjourné when asked about the possibility of sending European soldiers to Ukraine the French President had mentioned earlier this week.
Security agreement between the Netherlands and Ukraine. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a security agreement with Ukraine during a trip to Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. In particular, the agreement provides for two billion euros in military aid from the Netherlands to Kiev this year.