French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview released Saturday that he wanted Russia to be defeated in its war with Ukraine, but not "crushed".
He was speaking after returning from the Munich Security Conference, where he urged allies to intensify their support for Ukraine, and said France was prepared for a drawn-out conflict.
"I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position," he told French newspapers JDD and Le Figaro and broadcaster France Inter.
"I am convinced that, in the end, this will not conclude militarily," he added, predicting that neither said could fully prevail in the conflict.
But he did not, like some, want the fight to be taken on to Russian soil. Such people, he said, "want above all to crush Russia.
"This has never been the position of France and it never will be."
According to the BBC, addressing the conference in Munich on Friday, Mr Macron insisted that now was not the time for dialogue with Moscow.
But he did not shy away from mentioning peace talks as a final goal.
The president suggested that Ukrainian military efforts, supported by allies, were the only way to "bring Russia back to the table and build a lasting peace".
He also dismissed the prospect of regime change in Russia, describing similar efforts around the world as a "total failure".
Despite Mr Macron's comments, negotiations are a faraway prospect for Ukraine's leaders.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the decision to not invite Moscow to the Munich conference.
Russian leaders should not be invited to the table as long as the "terrorist state kills, as long as it uses bombs, missiles and tanks as an argument for international politics", he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out immediate talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, insisting there was "no trust" between the parties. In an interview with the BBC earlier this week, he also dismissed the idea of giving up territory to strike a peace deal with Moscow.
Mr Macron has previously been criticised by some Nato allies for sending what they believe are mixed messages on Ukraine.
Last June, he was condemned by Mr Kuleba for saying it was vital that Russia was not "humiliated over its invasion".
Mr Kuleba at the time responded that Russia - which was "humiliating itself" - needed to be put in its place.