French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris should have paid more attention to the words of Eastern European countries that warned of Russia's aggressive intentions.

He stated this during a speech at the forum Globsec in Bratislava, informs Reuters.

Macron said there should be no division between "Old Europe" and "New Europe", commenting on the differences that have arisen between eastern and western EU members over Russia.

"Some have said that you have lost the opportunity to shut up. I think we also missed the opportunity to listen to you. This time is over," Macron said.

He thus alluded to the words of former French President Jacques Chirac, who said in 2003 that Eastern European countries that supported US and UK intentions to invade Iraq had missed a "good opportunity to shut up".

Macron also said Russian troops had suffered apparent setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine.

"The war is far from over, but one thing is clear: Ukraine will not be conquered. We see that what should have been a 'special operation' is already a geopolitical failure," Macron added.

We will remind, earlier it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron called on the EU to "rethink" its policy on the accession to the EU of Ukraine and other countries.

In addition, we previously reported that French President Emmanuel Macron said that Western countries should provide Ukraine with "tangible and reliable security guarantees".

Read also:

• US wants to end war in Ukraine by end of year - La Repubblica
• What kind of "peace" is imposed on Ukraine in the war with Russia and why the aggressor is not ready for peace
• The Vatican called a negotiator who will deal with a "peace mission" on the war in Ukraine

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