Speaking in Paris, where world leaders had gathered to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1, the Russian leader told RT television: “Europe is a powerful economic entity, a powerful economic union and it is quite natural that it wants to be independent, self-sufficient and sovereign in matters of defence and security.” Putin also hailed the potential creation of a European army as “a positive process”, adding that it would “strengthen the multipolar world”. The Russian commander-in-chief even extended his support to Mr Macron, who recently championed the notion of a European army so the EU would not have to rely so heavily on Washington for defence.
Mr Macron had said Russia’s stance on the issue “is aligned with that of France” to some extent.
But Trump met the ambitious proposals with censure after Mr Macron appeared to cast the US as a threat amid its withdrawal from a key missile treaty known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
The treaty – signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev – is an arms control agreement between the United States and Russia.
The arrangement was key in bringing about lasting peace after the Cold War.
The INF treaty eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers with short and intermediate ranges.
Referring to cyber-hacking, meddling in electoral processes and the US withdrawal from the INF treaty, Mr Macron said Europe needed to safeguard itself against China, Russia “and even the United States”.
Later in the same interview, he spoke of the need for a European army, saying: “Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening.
“We need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States.”
Trump seized on Mr Macron’s words, calling the idea of European army “very insulting” and demanding Europe pay the US for its “subsidising of NATO” instead.
But after the fiery exchange, Mr Macron and Trump attempted to downplay their differences, with both agreeing on the need for a “stronger Europe”.
Meanwhile, a French official dismissed the spat as a “misunderstanding”.
Speaking about Moscow’s relations with NATO and Washington, Putin said Russia is always ready for dialogue, adding the ball is now in the US court.
On the INF treaty withdrawal, he said: “It is not us who are going to withdraw from the INF treaty, it is the Americans who plan to do that.”