SUMMARY

French Ambassador Philippe Etienne reiterated on MSNBC (The Mehdi Hassan Show) that President Macron was "discussing" with the Russian President, in "close coordination" with President Zelensky, the humanitarian situation and to obtain a cease-fire. He said that in the next call with V. Putin, France will seek, with the help of Turkey and Greece, to "allow the population of Marioupol to escape from this hell". Asked about the fragility of French democracy and its legitimacy when it is unable to fight its internal enemies, the ambassador replied that "if we fight for democracy in the world it is not because we think that ours is perfect. He recalled the "unity" and "decisive" European measures during the Ukrainian crisis. Asked about the position of France with regard to the statement of Joe Biden, he said that France "did not necessarily use the same language. He recalled the desire of France and the EU for "independence" in energy.

[Ambassador Etienne starts talking at 26:29]