French President Emmanuel Macron promised Ukraine this Friday financial aid of an additional 300 million euros and pointed out that they are in contact with the authorities of that country to supply the defensive material they need.
“Nothing has been spared and nothing will be spared to help them. We owe them support and solidarity”, he said in a solemn message read on his behalf in the National Assembly and the French Senate, with the whole of both hemicycles standing.
It is the first time that a French president has used this constitutional mechanism to address the legislature since 2002.
Macron added that “additional commitments will be assumed within the framework of NATO to protect the soil from Baltic and Romanian allies” and that will also strengthen the fight against disinformation and cyber attacks.
The French leader, who this afternoon is participating in a NATO meeting by videoconference, criticized the fact that, with the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has turned its back on its international commitments and diplomatic channels and has opted for “destabilizing confrontation for the whole of the continent”.
Macron stressed that Franceas a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and rotating president of the Council of the European Union, has a prominent role in resolving this crisis.
In his opinion, this war “marks a great geopolitical and historical turning point in the 21st century and risks a return of empires and a border conflict.”
The sanctions imposed on Russia for this military aggression, “which will also affect Russian personalities, including the highest leaders,” will have a long-term impact, but Europe assumes it “because it is about the defense of our values,” he added.
“This challenge confirms that our Europe is not a union of consumers, but a political project of citizens united by common values. The EU must become a more sovereign power in energy, technology and military matters,” he said.
Before reading that message, he had met at the Elysee with the two direct predecessors in the French Presidency, the socialist François Hollande (2012-2017) and the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), to exchange views on the situation and gather their experience in previous conflicts.
Hollande maintained at the end of their bilateral meeting that Europe should raise the level of the sanctions imposed on Russia, which he considered “insufficient”, and suggested putting an end to Russian gas imports.
For his part, Sarkozy stressed that diplomacy is the only possible way to put an end to the situation and proposed creating new multilateral bodies.
“Today nothing works. Not NATO, not the G7, not the G20, whose creation I defended. Not even the UN, which oscillates between apathy and immobility. We are in 2022, it is time to invent the institutions that allow the multilateralism of the 21st century”, he argued. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
