President Vladimir Putin said that Russia must choose peace in Ukraine that guarantees Russia's long-term security and its sustainable development, Reuters and TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
“We must choose for ourselves a peace option that will be suitable for us and that will guarantee peace for our country in the long-term historical plan“, Putin told women who lost relatives in the war.
“We do not need anything foreign, but we will not give up what is ours“, he added.
In response to a question from the mother of a fallen soldier whether Russia will back down, Putin said Russia has no such intention.
A day after the French president Emmanuel Macron called Russia a threat to Europe and suggested that other European countries be placed under the French nuclear umbrella, the Russian head of state said that some people had forgotten what happened to Napoleon.
In 1812, the French emperor invaded Russia with his army and captured Moscow, but was then forced to make a desperate attempt to retreat in the winter and suffered huge losses, Reuters recalls.
“There are still people who want to return to the time of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended“, the Russian president said, without mentioning Macron by name.