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France vows anew: No recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea

PARIS, June 26 (KUNA) -- France will not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea as a legitimate action, President Emmanuel Macron affirmed on Monday.
The president, in a statement following talks he held with the visiting Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, said Paris is committed to safeguarding Ukraine's sovereignty and borders.
His assurance to his guest came after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Crimea, on Saturday.
Moscow merged the peninsula into its mainland in 2014, a move that drew outcries from western powers and Kiev.
The Ukraine has been witnessing, since 2014, an armed struggle between the government forces and pro-Moscow separatists in the east.
Putin is widely eyed as an ambitious Russian leader with aspirations to restore some might of the Soviet Union Empire, which collapsed in the 1990s. Russia had intervened in other neighboring regions and countries such as Georgia. (end) mjz.rk