Relations with Russia should be reconsidered after war in Ukraine, Macron says.

Relations with Russia should be reconsidered after Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine is over, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sept.

22. Speaking at an event in Paris, the French president urged people to imagine "tomorrow's peace" in Europe in a new form, and in a new reality. "We will have to think about a new form of organization of Europe and rethink our relations with Russia after the war in Ukraine," Macron said.

In the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion, Macron was criticized over his calls to avoid "the humiliation" of Russia, but later he hardened his stance. Paris has since delivered to Ukraine a number of long-range SCALP missiles, and Macron announced in February a coalition to supply Kyiv with "medium- and long-range missiles and bombs." Another of Macron's initiatives, sending military instructors to Ukraine, has reportedly been supported by some countries but so far seen no development.

The French president said that building a new international order is "the biggest challenge" and that today it is "incomplete and unfair." "We need an order where some countries cannot block others, and where countries are represented with dignity, and therefore this should be done in much fairer bodies, such as the U.N., the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund," Macron added. As Russia has become more isolated since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and has increasingly depleted its preexisting supplies of military equipment, it has deepened its ties with China, Iran and North Korea.

Yet, some Western countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, suggested that they should be prepared for normalization of relations with Moscow.

Opinion: The harsh truth behind Ukraine's peace prospects Plans for ending the war, rumors of a new "Minsk 3.0" contact group, preparations for elections in Ukraine... The casual observer might be excused for thinking peace in Ukraine is just around the corner.

This is fueled by a lot of wishful thinking both in Ukraine and abroad, but