Brussels: The "right moment" will come, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who said on Friday that he may deprive his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of France's highest honour.
In 2006, when Moscow had improved ties with Paris and the West, then-President Jacques Chirac presented Putin with the Grand-Croix de la Legion d'Honneur, the highest rank in France's honours system.
However, relations have virtually collapsed since Putin authorised the all-out invasion of Ukraine last year, and the European Union has enacted a number of severe economic sanctions.
Also Read: Nicaragua releases 222 Ortega opponents and sends them to the US
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine received the top honour from Macron on Wednesday, but Putin has not yet been formally stripped of it.
After an EU summit where leaders discussed increasing the flow of weapons to Ukraine, Macron acknowledged that the issue surrounding Putin's medal was "symbolic but important."
Because of the war, some French lawmakers and activists have urged Macron to revoke Putin's award.
Also Read: US claims China's balloon could gather signals intelligence
Macron added that while he thought he had the authority to revoke the honour, "It is not a decision that I made today."
A decision of this nature "has serious meaning, and it should be taken at the right time," Macron told reporters on Friday. He mentioned that he had previously revoked the honour.
Also Read: Abraham Lincoln's soul still wanders in White House? Many veterans have claimed
Harvey Weinstein's Legion of Honor award was revoked by Macron in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual misconduct against him in 2017.
Lance Armstrong, a disgraced cyclist and former Tour de France champion, also lost his French Legion of Honor award.