Russia and its people must be treated with respect in the midst of the Ukraine crisis because long-term peace is impossible without Russia's participation, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

"We are responsible for maintaining all possible human ties: to continue talking with the Russian and Belarusian peoples with the help of artists, intellectuals, cooperation in the technical sphere, business and NGOs ... this is my task to continue talking with the leaders, even if we have differences ... and always respect Russia as a country and the Russian people," he told a pre-election meeting in the commune of Poissy.

The president emphasized that it was impossible to talk about long-term peace if Russia is not a part of Europe's "great peace architecture."

A wave of Russophobic sentiment has passed through EU countries in the midst of Russia's ongoing operation, including attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, organizations, citizens, movies, artists, and even Russian cats. On March 7, the Russian Agency for International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) in Paris was attacked. On the same day, a truck crashed outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin.

On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine in response to DPR and LPR calls for assistance in countering Ukrainian troop aggression. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and poses no threat to civilians. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.