War in Ukraine: Macron pleads for a return to the negotiating table
The war in Ukraine was at the heart of Emmanuel Macron's interview on France2 on October 12, 2022. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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4 mins
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to "come back around the discussion table" and promised the delivery of anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine, in the grip of new massive Russian bombardments.
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"
Today, first, Vladimir Putin must end this war, respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and return to the discussion table
," said Emmanuel Macron on the public channel France 2, accusing him of having made the “choice” to “
install
” Europe “
in the war
” with its missile strikes of the last days and the mobilization to reinforce its army.
The French president, despite criticism, including from Ukraine, has never broken off the dialogue with the master of the Kremlin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
He assured that he would continue to speak to him “
whenever necessary
”.
The President reiterated that it would ultimately be up to the Ukrainians to decide when the conditions for negotiation will be met and that the stated goal was clear: a return to the "
1991 borders
", before the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and that of four regions at the end of September by Russia.
"
The question is whether these war aims will only be achieved militarily
," he wondered.
"
I believe that at some point it will be in Ukraine's and Russia's interest to come back to the table and negotiate
."
"
The stability of our continent is our concern to all (...) We will have the role of guarantor to play
", he said, while conceding that these negotiations would not take place "
not in the next weeks
" and that it was necessary to prepare to "
spend the winter in this context of war
.
New military support in Kyiv
Until then, France will continue to help Ukraine militarily by delivering "
radar, systems and missiles
" to it in the face of bombing and Russian drone attacks, Emmanuel Macron said, but without specifying which system. anti-aircraft he intended to deliver.
kyiv is eyeing the SAMP Mamba, produced by Thales and MBDA, the equivalent of the American Patriots.
Still, the French army only has 8 of these systems to date.
The French president, on the other hand, added that France planned to deliver additional Caesar guns, 6 more after the 18 already provided.
Guns taken from an order originally intended for Denmark.
“
We are working on the delivery of 6 additional guns with Denmark.
Why ?
Because in fact, these are guns that we produced that were intended for the Danish army and we are trying to produce them in parallel and deliver them immediately to the Ukrainians.
»
The Head of State indicated that he also intended to strengthen NATO's posture on the eastern European flank.
Rafale fighters will join Estonia.
As for the French contingent deployed in Romania, it will receive the support of a squadron of Charles Clerc, ie 12 heavy armored vehicles accompanied by a hundred soldiers.
Warning to Belarus
He also sent a warning to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of the main allies of the Russians, assuring that he would have "
problems
" if he engages even more in the conflict.
Emmanuel Macron called for "
avoiding any escalation of the conflict
", so that it does not extend to a neighboring country of Ukraine and to prevent the use by Moscow of chemical or nuclear weapons.
But the head of state, who promised to "
tell the truth
" to the French about the implications of the war, preferred to kick the nuclear threat stirred up by Vladimir Putin, recalling only that France was also a country "
equipped
" with the atomic bomb and believed in "
deterrence
".
" The
less we talk about it
", the more credible it is, he slipped.
Our doctrine is based on the fundamental interests of the nation and they are very clearly defined.
It would not be at all that which would be in question if there were for example a nuclear ballistic attack in Ukraine or in the region.
Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic
Valerie Gas
With France in the throes of social and political unrest, the stakes are all the higher as the war in Ukraine enters a new phase, with massive Russian strikes Monday and Tuesday on Ukrainian territory and direct threats of the Kremlin on the Europeans who support kyiv.
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France
Emmanuel Macron
Vladimir Poutine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukraine
Russia