Putin reminds Macron about Napoleon's defeat following Russia remarks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reminded his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of how Napoleon Bonaparte's 1812 campaign against Moscow ended, responding to the head of state's remarks about Russia.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation in Moscow, Putin said: "There was a talk about Smolensk and the museum from the time of Napoleon’s invasion. Some still long to return to those days, forgetting how it ended," he said.

He stressed that France had failed to conquer Russia in the past and would fail again, attributing this to the resilience of Russian soldiers.

"With young men like your son, his friends, and comrades, conquering Russia is impossible," Putin told the mother of a Russian serviceman fighting in Ukraine.

He added that Russia’s adversaries have always made the same mistake -- underestimating the character of the Russian people in the broadest sense -- all the nation's ethnic groups, who share something fundamental that unites them.

Macron in a televised address to the nation Wednesday evening, said Russia has become "a threat to France and to Europe," declaring that a "strategic debate" has started on nuclear deterrence to protect European allies.