On February 22, a Facebook user known for frequently spreading false information, lawyer Irakli Zakareishvili, published a post claiming that, during a conversation between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Macron stated that the Minsk Agreement had no legal force. The post includes a video showing a conversation between Macron and Putin.
The claim that Emmanuel Macron stated during a phone conversation with Putin that the Minsk Agreement had no legal force is false. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Macron attempted to persuade Putin to engage in negotiations and de-escalate the tense situation before the war. At no point did Macron say that the Minsk Agreement lacked legal force. On the contrary, he tried to bring the parties to the negotiating table within the framework of this agreement.
The video published by Zakareishvili is a fragment from the documentary film “A President, Europe, and the War.” The documentary describes how Emmanuel Macron’s administration handled the war in Ukraine during the first few months. The film was released in 2023, and excerpts from it have been circulating online for a year. The documentary includes Macron’s conversations with other leaders, including a segment of a phone call with Vladimir Putin, which took place a few days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The footage shows Macron’s advisors listening to the conversation and simultaneously providing him with pieces of advice regarding the conversation. The video published by Zakareishvili is only a short excerpt from this conversation. The verbatim transcript of the dialogue was published by Le Temps in the summer of 2022. During the call, Putin mentions that he heard Macron’s comments at a press conference in Kyiv on February 8, where, according to Putin, Macron stated that the Minsk Agreement should be revised to make it implementable. Macron’s advisors immediately point out that he never said such a thing and advise the president not to engage in a detailed discussion with Putin on this matter.
Macron responds to Putin: “Vladimir, first of all, I never said that the Minsk agreements should be revised. I did not say this in Berlin, Kyiv, or Paris. I said that they must be adopted and their provisions must be respected. I have a completely different idea of the events of recent days.”
Putin tells Macron that he does not “understand what your problem with the separatists is,” as they are open to a “constructive dialogue” with the Ukrainians.
Macron: “There are a few remarks about what you said, Vladimir. First of all, the Minsk agreements are a dialogue with you; you are absolutely right in this. In this context, it was not envisaged that the discussion would be based on a document provided by the separatists. So, when your negotiator tries to force Ukrainians to discuss a separatist ‘road map,’ he shows disrespect for the Minsk agreements. Separatists are not the ones who will make proposals to [change] Ukrainian laws.”
The conversation between Macron and Putin becomes tense. Putin reminds Macron of Articles 9, 11, and 12 of the Minsk Agreement. Article 9 of the second Minsk Agreement, with certain conditions, provided for Ukraine reestablishing full control over its borders. Article 11 required Ukraine to implement constitutional reforms, primarily focused on decentralization and granting special status to separatist regions. Article 12 related to holding elections in the separatist regions. The second Minsk Agreement was signed by Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE, and the two separatist regions. Although Russia’s signature made it a party to the conflict, the text of the agreement did not explicitly name Russia, allowing it to present itself as a mediator rather than a direct participant in the conflict.
During the phone call, Macron emphasized Article 9 and pointed out that the agreement also served as a roadmap for dialogue with Russia.
Macron: They are [Articles 9, 11, and 13] in front of my eyes! It clearly states that Ukraine’s proposal should be agreed with representatives of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in a trilateral meeting. This is exactly what we propose to do. So, I don’t know where your lawyer studied law. I just look at these texts and try to apply them! And I don’t know which lawyer could tell you that in a sovereign state, the texts of laws are made up of separatist groups, not democratically elected authorities.”
In response, Putin repeats a propagandistic and disinformation narrative, claiming that Ukraine’s government is not democratically elected and came to power through a violent coup. Macron firmly states that they will not act at the dictation of the separatists and demands that they engage in dialogue with Ukraine. Putin responds that the separatist groups are in contact with Ukraine but that the Ukrainian side does not respond to them. Macron then proposes starting negotiations with the involvement of all interested parties. Putin replies that he will discuss this proposal with his advisors after their conversation. However, as is well known, such negotiations never took place, and just four days after the call, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.
The implementation of the Minsk Agreements had long been a problematic issue. The very provisions that Putin refers to in the conversation made the situation particularly difficult. These provisions focused on a political resolution to the conflict but were particularly difficult to implement. Duncan Allan, an associate fellow at Chatham House, notes that while Ukraine saw the Minsk Agreements as a means to restore its sovereignty over the occupied territories, a major issue for Ukraine was that regaining control over its borders was supposed to begin only after implementing constitutional reforms on decentralization and holding elections. It was unacceptable for Ukraine to hold local elections in temporarily occupied, separatist regions, where Kyiv had no control and no means to ensure a fair electoral process.
Despite the difficulties associated with the Minsk Agreements, in the excerpt of Macron and Putin’s conversation featured in the documentary, the French president never rejects the Minsk Agreement. On the contrary, he repeatedly refers to it as a roadmap for negotiations. It is worth noting that after Russia recognized the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and launched its invasion of Ukraine, the Minsk Agreements lost their relevance.
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