Ukraine: French actor Gérard Depardieu, close to Putin, calls for "stop arms and negotiate"

"Russia and Ukraine have always been brotherly countries. I am against this fratricidal war. I say: + Stop arms and negotiate! +", he declared.

This call comes as the Russian army continues to deploy to try to take control of Kiev and the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city not far from the Russian border, is bombarded by the Russian army, according to the regional governor.

The sacred monster of French cinema, who has French and Russian nationality, called AFP on the phone to make this statement.

He had obtained a Russian passport in January 2013, against a background of disagreement with the fiscal policy of President François Hollande.

"I find it normal to pay, but not to idiots who think they are doing good," he said in 2014 to the weekly Le Point.

Since then, Gérard Depardieu has never ceased to praise his new homeland, Russia, a "great democracy", and to praise Vladimir Putin, whom he notably compared to Pope John Paul II.

© 2022 AFP