France will not recognize Crimea’s integration into Russia: Macron

President Emmanuel Macron says France refuses to recognize the integration of the Black Sea Crimean Peninsula into the Russian Federation.

"France is committed to Ukraine's sovereignty with its recognized borders, Macron said after talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Paris on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday visited Crimea, which joined Russia following a referendum in 2014, in a trip that Kiev condemned as a violation of its sovereignty.

Western powers accuse Russia of failing to honor its commitments under the Minsk accords framework for ending the violence between government troops and Kremlin-backed forces in Ukraine's east.

EU leaders agreed last week to extend economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, saying Moscow had failed to meet its commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine.

The French Foreign Ministry claimed OSCE observers in Ukraine were being subjected to "unacceptable intimidation and obstacles."

When Macron met Putin in May, shortly after the new French leader took office, he admitted the two had "disagreed on a number of things."

(Source: AFP)

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