Raquel VillaécijaParis Correspondent
Paris Correspondent
Updated Tuesday, April 2, 2024-18:35
Gaza José Andrés asks Israel to "stop killing civilians and aid workers"
Ukraine Ammunition returns to kyiv and Ukraine stabilizes fronts
Paris and Washington
have tried this Tuesday to give an image of a common front at the international level, with
Ukraine
and in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, despite the
divergences between both countries
and in a context of political uncertainty in the US. The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has been visiting Paris, where he met in just a few hours with the French Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs and with the President, Emmanuel Macron.
The objective: to address the delicate international situation, where fronts are accumulating, in Ukraine and Gaza. The visit comes after the
death of seven workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen
in a bombing in the Strip. Blinken has met with his counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, and both leaders have condemned these deaths, which increase pressure on Washington to be more forceful with Tel Aviv.
"The protection of humanitarian personnel is a moral imperative
," said Blinken, who has asked Israel for an "impartial investigation" into the events and has recognized that the situation in the Strip is "catastrophic, worsening day by day." "These people are heroes, they run towards the fire, they do not flee from it," she said, referring to the humanitarian workers who died in the attack.
Regarding the conflict,
France's position
, Séjourné recalled, remains the same:
a ceasefire
, the massive entry of
humanitarian aid
and, later,
the two-state solution
.
Both leaders have indicated that all their efforts are focused
on avoiding a regional escalation
. "There are actors who evidently seek to extend the conflict. If it happens, it is their responsibility," Séjourné and Blinken have agreed.
Situation in Ukraine
Both have also addressed the situation in Ukraine. The US has so far been the country that has helped Ukraine the most militarily. However, the plan to
financially support
the country is
blocked by Republicans in Congress
. The closing of the arms tap has led kyiv to a situation of blockade on the battlefield.
Emmanuel Macron has been warning for weeks about the risk Europe runs if Moscow wins the war. A month ago he organized a summit in support of Ukraine, in which around twenty allied countries participated, including the US, and in which he already verbalized the emergency situation. The French president believes that Moscow has hardened its tone, and that is why aid to kyiv must be reinforced. He did not even rule out sending troops to the field.
"We are at a critical moment, in which Ukraine urgently needs more help from the West," admitted Antony Blinken in his appearance alongside the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecournu. Both visited the headquarters of Nexter, a subsidiary of the Franco-American group KNDS that produces the Caesars, the artillery cannons that France has sent to Ukraine.
France has said that
it will increase Caesar production up to 12 per month
and Blinken has recalled that military support "is an investment in ourselves," because it allows us to develop the industry that the West needs. "It is about being effective and complementary in aid to Ukraine," said Sébastien Lecornu. Paris is not the ally that has provided the most material support to kyiv, it is behind the US or Germany, but the French Government argues that the usefulness of the aid "is more effective than the quantity."
The French Foreign Minister has also warned of
"manipulation and false information" from Moscow
, which "intends to accuse Kiev" of the
jihadist attack two weeks ago
. "Russia has made the wrong enemy, denying the risk of Islamist terrorism on its territory." Séjourné has said that Paris will propose a European-wide sanctions regime against Russian companies that "spread disinformation and try to destabilize the country and Europe." Blinken will be in Brussels on Wednesday, in a meeting with his counterparts to prepare for the next NATO summit.