Published February 21,2025
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French President Emmanuel Macron stated Thursday that he’ll inform his US counterpart Donald Trump to not present weak spot towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, as it’s going to make it more durable to confront China and Iran.
Speaking throughout a dwell query and reply session held on the social media platform X, Macron stated he would go to Washington subsequent week to barter with Trump, including they share the identical “strategic interests.”
“I’m going to tell him: ‘You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you are weak in the face of Putin?” he added.
He additionally responded to Trump’s description of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections,” emphasizing that Zelenskyy is the “legitimate” chief of Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian president was elected in free elections, which is not the case with Vladimir Putin, who has been killing his opponents and manipulating his elections for a long time,” he stated, pointing to the problem of organizing elections in a rustic the place “millions of Ukrainians have fled for their safety.”
“We’re at war in some way, and we have to prepare for possible future wars and deter them,” Macron added.
He stated their safety and France’s pursuits are “at stake” because the US and Russia start negotiations on the Ukrainian battle.
“Russia is a threat to Europeans if it continues to be predatory,” he stated, reiterating the necessity to make investments extra within the protection and safety of Europe as they “enter a new era.”
Macron additionally underscored that France doesn’t intend to ship troops to Ukraine for the time being.
“What we do not rule out, within a planned framework, with our allies, is the possibility of having forces which, once peace has been negotiated, could help to guarantee Ukraine’s security,” he stated.
Macron additionally burdened that nobody “has the right to say that Ukraine does not have the right to join the EU or NATO.”
He added that he can be talking by cellphone with Zelenskyy later Thursday.
Leaders from a number of main European international locations met in Paris on Monday at Macron’s invitation to debate transatlantic relations, the scenario in Ukraine, potential peace talks and European safety.
US-European relations have grown tense after Trump initiated direct discussions with Putin about Ukraine peace talks, excluding European leaders.
At the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s particular envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans wouldn’t be invited to deliberate US-Russia talks on Ukraine.
Adding to the tensions, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prompt that European nations, slightly than the US, ought to present peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. He emphasised that any such deployment ought to be non-NATO and wouldn’t be lined below Article 5 of NATO’s collective protection clause, stressing that US troops wouldn’t be concerned in any safety ensures.
Source: www.anews.com.tr