“I hope with all my might that we don’t have to go to war.” With a video published on the social network defend Ukraine against the advance of Russian forces with attacks without pause. In his message, the president of France answered questions from internet users and launched a new call to European allies to be “dissuasive and credible” against Russia.
In the video, published this Saturday, Macron reiterated his words about the possibility of intervention by European troops along with kyiv, which have generated debate in recent weeks.
Moscow already warned days ago through the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajárova: “If the French appear in the conflict zone, they will inevitably become targets of the Russian Armed Forces. I think Paris already has proof of this.”
The president maintained his position: “Today we face an immense challenge,” he said. “Ukraine has been attacked by Russia, and at some point we must dissuade Russia from advancing further.”
“In Ukraine, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country are at stake. But also the rule of law, our common rules, and if we allow this to happen in Ukraine, the law of the strongest wins. And if that happens, we cannot be safe, because it happens 1,500 kilometers from our house,” Macron added.
According to the French president, the response to Russia must be European: “We must also say that all of us, We Europeans must be ready to act to deter the Russians.
In conclusion, Macron returned to his words regarding an intervention in Ukraine: “No,” he said, speaking of the short-term strategy. “I hope with all my might that we don’t have to go to war.” And he concluded: “We must be dissuasive and credible in the face of our adversaries.”
The message, according to Macron, “Must be ‘if you go too far and threaten my interests, my security, then I do not exclude intervening‘”. France is not a power of war, but a power of peace. But if we want peace, we must protect it.”
And in response to a question from a user, the president insisted: “No, we will not go to war and I want to reassure you: I have done everything possible for France to have peace,” but “today we have an immense challenge and we must be able to dissuade Russia from advancing further“.
“In Ukraine, a big part of our future and our security is at stake, so we have to help more, which we will do in the next few weeks, which is to give more equipment to the Ukrainians. But also to say, if the Russians go too far “All of us Europeans must be ready to act to dissuade them,” Macron stressed.
Controversy ignites
The statement generated new controversy in France this Saturday. The newspaper The Figaro He commented on his website that “it is evident that Emmanuel Macron likes to appear as a war leader. At the end of February, he assumed that he should not ‘dynamically exclude’ the sending of French troops, to find a ‘strategic ambiguity.’”
Then in a long interview with the British weekly The Economist in which he warned that “Europe faces an imminent danger, things can fall apart very quickly”, however he moderated the comment by maintaining that a red line is if the Russians cross the front line or if Ukraine requests that help. Which he has certainly already formulated on several occasions.
Last February Macron generated a strong controversy in Europe and among NATO members when for the first time he stated that “today there is no consensus on sending ground troops, but nothing can be ruled out. We will do everything possible to prevent Russia from win this war. We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is necessary for security and stability in Europe.”
The French leader has been working on the notion of strategic autonomy for the European bloc in case the United States turns to isolation if Donald Trump wins in the November elections.
The populist tycoon has already said that between a European country and Russia he would support the Kremlin and has long managed to block the sending of military aid to Ukraine, which benefited Moscow’s advance in the war. It was in this response that he began to raise the possibility of direct military action on the ground.
In reaction to those comments that it described as “provocative statements,” Moscow announced last Monday a surprise drill of preparation and use of tactical nuclear weapons.
The Russian puppet government in Belarus led by Alexander Lukashenko behaved in the same way. Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin also alluded to the nuclear threat in his Liberation Day speech this week for victory over the Nazis in World War II.
Even analysts, the concern reflected by Macron extends to the European universe that if kyiv falls in the war, Russia, as happened in the last century with Hitler, will not be content with the territories it took in Ukraine and will seek to increase its influence. Russia also forms an anti-Western axis completed by China, Iran and North Korea, which would perceive themselves as winners and with rights from that Moscow victory.
Source: agencies and editorial staff of Clarín
