Putin to Macron: Terrorism Cannot be Defeated by Dismantling Statehood of a Country

VERSALLES, France-  Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that terrorism cannot be defeated by dismantling a country’s statehood, but by joining international efforts to fight terrorism.

 “It is impossible to fight a terrorist threat by dismantling the statehood of countries that already suffer from some internal problems and conflicts,” Putin said at the joint press conference with Macron on Monday in Versailles, France, according to RT.

 President Putin went on to say that Russia and France are determined to cooperate in resolving the crises in Syria, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, as well as to fight terrorism together. The Russian leader added that he and Macron had particularly agreed to establish a working group on fighting terrorism.

The French President, on his part, stressed that serious international problems cannot be resolved without Moscow.

“No major problem in the world can be solved without Russia,” he told the press conference.

Macron then said that France is interested in intensifying cooperation with Russia, particularly in resolving the crisis in Syria. He went on to say that this issue demands “an inclusive political solution.”

He added that fighting so-called “Islamic State” (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) remains an “absolute priority” for France and serves as one of the reasons for the reinforcement of cooperation with Russia.

Hamda Mustafa