French President Emmanuel Macron warns that Russian invasions “knowing the border” are not halted in Ukraine, but are a direct threat to France and Europe that the United States must prepare in case it leaves that side.
“I want to believe that the United States will remain on our side,” Macron said in a speech aired late Wednesday. “But if not, you have to be ready,” he said.
Macron tried to calm what his office called voter unrest about the Ukrainian crisis, European security and the threat of the Trans-Atlantic war after Trump suspended US support and threatened to slap goods from the EU after the taxes imposed on China, Mexico and Canada.
Macron told the French public in his Primetime TV speech: I know you are justly concerned in the face of historical events that are shaking the world order. The war in Ukraine, which killed and injured about a million people, continues to be of the same strength. Our allies, the United States, have changed their position in this war, supporting Ukraine less, allowing doubts to remain about what will come next. ”
He said that an increasingly “brutal” world will enter a “new era” and “it will be insane to maintain an audience in this dangerous world.”
Macron said France and Europe must continue to support Ukraine. He said that “abandoning Ukraine” would not result in a path to peace.
In an implicit reference to Trump's attempt to force Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia, he added:
He said: “Who can today believe that Russia will stop in Ukraine?”
Macron said the deployed European troops will not fight today or on the frontline, but are there to ensure Ukraine's peace once signed.
He also said he would discuss with European partners expanding France's nuclear deterrent to other countries on the continent, but said decisions and control would always remain in the hands of the French president.
Macron said: “The future of Europe should not be decided in Washington or Moscow, and yes, the threat from the east is coming back. And 30 years since the Berlin Wall fell, the innocence ended. ”
He said France and Europe must also prepare tariffs on European goods, and the decision “is not understandable to the American economy, just like us.” He said France and Europe would respond, but he hoped to discourage Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy will be taking part in person with 27 EU leaders at the Brussels Defence Summit.
European leaders are bolstering their diplomatic efforts after Trump ordered a moratorium on all important US aid to Ukraine against Russia after an explosive national conflict in his oval office with Zelensky last week.
After Wednesday's speech, Macron welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban for a dinner of work at Elise Palace amid intense preparations for Thursday's EU summit on defense and support in Ukraine.
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EU leaders consider the harsh outlook that the US will more widely withdraw long-term support from Kiev from its European allies. The summit will discuss a significant boost to European defence spending to compensate for the expected decline in transatlantic support under Trump. In addition to the Ukraine crisis, EU leaders will discuss the European Commission's proposal to borrow up to 150 billion euros to lend to member states under the re-arming program.
The consensus on all these issues is not easy. Orban was a worshiper of Putin as well as Trump, repeatedly smashing Ukraine's unified EU front. The Hungarian leader — Trump and one of Moscow's closest allies in the EU — said earlier this week that a “trans-Atlantic rift” over Russia's invasion of Ukraine has recently been revealed.
He told the briefing: This is a challenge that must be faced on Thursday. “He said he must face the challenge as early as Wednesday in an obvious reference to his planned dinner with Macron.
He denounced the European leaders he met over the weekend to support Kiev for deciding that “the war in Ukraine must continue.”
An official at Elisse said France was “inclusive” and “talking to everyone” and viewed Thursday's summit as “a new moment of unity in Europe.”
Officials said France “imposes the need for Ukraine to be completely related to debates about its future. That is clear, but it must be remembered, respected and fully considered.”
Macron, whose popularity has declined during the domestic political crisis urged by calling for a snap election, appears to have increased slight support among voters amid the first steps of Ukrainian diplomacy and the Trump administration. One opinion pollafter Macron's recent visit to Washington, showed an improvement in his trust rating among French voters.
However, the push to increase France's defence spending is consistent with the government's struggle to reduce the fiscal deficit.
