By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters). During his long talks this week with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin recited grievances dating back to the Cold War.

The French delegation received Monday’s first comprehensive readout of the meeting. Sources claimed that Macron was impressed by Putin’s differences to him, as he had seen in the French Riviera residence he rented three years prior.

One source said, “Putin gave him five hour of historical revisionism.” The two sources described the Kremlin leader’s belief that Russia had violated its promises to Russia after 1997 NATO expansion.

He continues to rewrite history, from 1997 up. In these lengthy monologues, he drowns you. The source said that the President (Macron), kept going back to the current issues.”

The French comments came as Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near its borders with Ukraine, held military exercises https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wrapup-1-russia-starts-belarus-military-drills-amid-new-diplomacy-ukraine-2022-02-10 in neighbouring Belarus and the Black Sea and Western leaders renewed their warnings of a major conflict.

The source said that the talks of more than five hours made it clear how much the Putin today is different from the Putin three years ago. He was not allowed to speak publicly about the details of the Macron-Putin discussions but was given a briefing on them.

A Kremlin spokesperson did not answer questions from Reuters regarding the French assessment on Putin’s mental state.

‘TOTAL DISREGARD’

Putin has expressed frustration over Western inactions regarding Russia’s security issues.

“We have tried for over 30 years to reach out to them to discuss avoiding certain actions. “What we get back is total disregard for all our concerns,” said the Russian leader at Monday’s joint news conference with Macron.

Putin is clearly becoming more hawkish by his own actions. This includes the crackdown on domestic rivals and pressure on independent journalists.

However, the Macron meeting provided a rare opportunity to a Western leader for an extended time with Putin and to assess his mind, eyeball-toeyeball.

During the course of the negotiations, Putin was the only person present, and the French leader was left alone, without any aides or interpreters.

Macron had traveled to Russia to attempt to reduce tensions with Russia and the West over Ukraine. Washington claims that the Kremlin has plans to invade its small neighbour. Moscow, however, denies this.

The first French source said that Putin was present at the negotiations on the 1997 NATO Agreement, which opened up the path for three ex Soviet bloc states, Hungary, and Poland to join NATO.

According to sources, Putin described the deal as an omission of promises made by the alliance about not expanding. NATO members insist that such promises never were made.

Putin spoke also about the 2014 Maidan Revolution, which saw a pro-Russian leader flee amid street protests. He also discussed the election of Volodymyr Zeleskiy to the presidency of Ukraine in 2019.

The first source stated that Zelenskiy claimed it was a coup, and the United States is in control of Zelenskiy.

Monitors of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, described Zelenskiy’s election as free and fair, and that it was held in respect for fundamental rights.

Macron stated to his team Monday after the talks that Putin’s visit in France had made him seem “less tougher and less focused upon history,” according to a second source.

This shift in Putin’s mental state was unclear for Ukraine.

Macron said to journalists as he flew from Moscow that there was hope for a halt to the escalated situation. But he stated it was still too early to make any specific promises to Russia, nor was there any way to prevent armed conflict.