France, Germany and Poland remain “united” in their “determination” to prevent a Russian victory in the war against Ukraine, declared this Friday (03/15/2024) the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Berlin, together with the heads of government of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and of Poland, Donald Tusk. The leaders met to signal support for kyiv.
Macron stated in a press conference that the three countries will remain faithful to their position of “never taking the initiative for an escalation”, after weeks of tension, particularly with Germany, over the strategy to support Ukraine. Scholz, for his part, announced that the countries agreed to immediately purchase more weapons for Ukraine on the world market.
Likewise, a new long-range artillery coalition will be formed within the framework of the Ramstein Forum to supply Ukrainian forces, as well as expanding the production of military equipment, also with partners in Ukraine. “We will not relent in our support,” Scholz stressed at the end of the so-called Weimar Triangle meeting.
“One only voice”
The German chancellor also highlighted the agreement at the European Union level to promote a specific military support fund for Ukraine worth 5 billion euros for this year, the reinforcement of the community training mission of Ukrainian soldiers and the decision to use the frozen Russian asset interests in Europe to support arms purchases for kyiv.
Macron noted that the coalition is open to all countries, like the many others that exist for the supply of F16 fighters and drones, for example. The French president, who reiterated that the security and future of Europe is at stake due to the Russian war in Ukraine, explained that the three countries support the Czech initiative, which at the Munich Security Conference in February announced that it has found up to 800,000 NATO standard ammunition that can be sent to Ukraine if the necessary funding is found.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that for him it is very important that the Weimar Triangle has been reactivated and that the trilateral meeting has served to make concrete decisions. He maintained that this shows that “malicious rumors, disputes or differences between the capitals are not true.” “Today we have spoken with one voice, especially about the security of our continent and our countries,” he said.
DZC (EFE, AFP)
