France's Macron says Russian intervention in Belarus would not be welcome

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at the press conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Fort de Bregancon, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, on August 20, 2020. Christophe Simon/Pool via REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he had told President Vladimir Putin that any Russian military intervention in Belarus would be unwelcome and Paris does not want to see a repeat of what happened in Ukraine six years ago.

"As I had the opportunity to tell Vladimir Putin, I believe that any external intervention in Belarus, starting with an intervention by Russian forces, whether military or internal security, would obviously be an intervention that would come out of the Belarus national framework," Macron told a news conference.