French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe’s future security architecture should include guarantees for Russia as well.
“We have to think about the security architecture that we will live in tomorrow. We are especially talking about President Vladimir Putin’s words that NATO is approaching Russia’s borders and is deploying weapons that could threaten it,” he said.
According to the French leader, after the end of special operations, Western countries will need to raise the issue of meeting the security needs of each side.
“This issue will be part of the peace discussions and we need to prepare for what happens next. [украинского конфликта]And think about how we can protect our allies and at the same time give guarantees to Russia for its own security as soon as it returns to the negotiating table,” he said.
Macron added that the question “depending on Ukraine” also remained unanswered. We are talking about country borders. When asked by a journalist about whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demands to return the Crimean peninsula would be legitimate, he replied, “Ukraine itself should decide, under what conditions, how and when to negotiate, and nobody else.”
“It is the security of the rest of Europe that depends on us,” the French leader concluded.
What about in France itself?
Macron assured that Paris would continue to support Kiev, but at the same time would never agree to undermine the combat capability of its own army in order to provide weapons for the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“We will never weaken our army’s ability to defend our own land and our citizens,” he said.
Noting that France will continue to “do their best”, Macron promised, “We will never procure such a weapon that will make us a party to the conflict as a result of their use in attacks on Russian soil.” but to respect “these two constraints”.
The French President also urged the citizens of the country not to panic over possible power cuts. Earlier, the French power grid operator RTE warned of the threat of power outages after the New Year.
No need to panic. Panic doesn’t help and is unfounded,” Macron said in an interview.
“I tell you with all my responsibility that if we all follow the “energy sobriety” plan (government measures to save electricity. – socialbites.ca) and reduce consumption by 10%, we can safely pass the winter period, even if it is very cold. “December and January,” he said.
Meeting with Putin
According to Macron, the next phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, could take place in the near future.
“After my meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, especially on civilian nuclear energy, I plan to meet with President Putin again,” he said.
“We must continue to help Ukraine, try to prevent escalation, secure the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and prepare contacts for the day when everyone will finally sit at the negotiating table,” the politician said.
“I will be happy to meet with Putin”
US President Joe Biden yesterday declaration On being ready to negotiate with Putin if the Russian leader “shows genuine interest in ending the war in Ukraine”. According to Biden, no such intention has been traced so far.
The truth is, I have no plans to contact Mr Putin in the near future. I will choose my words very carefully: I am ready to talk to Putin if he is really interested in finding a way to end the war. He has not done that yet,” Biden said, adding that his contacts with Putin are only possible in consultation with NATO.
“I will be happy to sit [за стол переговоров] He met with Putin to find out how he thinks,” said the US President, expressing his confidence that Russian officials “miscalculated in all their initial calculations” regarding the special operation.