The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, warned this Saturday that those who propose reducing contributions to the war in Ukraine are, in fact, ultimately defending “an unjust peace,” that Ukraine be “permanently vulnerable and therefore that Europe too be vulnerable.”
“It’s a defeatist mindset. It’s a recipe for the next war. Our goal is clear: a just and robust peace for Ukraine and to continue working with everyone to strengthen the common security framework for Europe,” Macron said in a message shared on social media.
The French leader insisted that “what is at stake in Ukraine” is “the security of all of us.” “Helping Ukraine defend itself is protecting France and the French. If Russia imposes its will on a European country through brutality, then all of Europe weakens,” he emphasized.
The head of the Élysée has asserted the need to maintain European cohesion to “help Ukraine get through the winter.” In this line, he called for “maintaining our financial support and helping Ukraine protect its population, its power plants, and its energy networks.”
Macron said that “Europe must play a key role in this process for a just and lasting peace, since the security of our continent also depends on this peace,” a stance that the European Council also shares.
“I want to express here my conviction that Ukraine, which has the largest conventional army in Europe, plays a key role alongside NATO, an organization in which it has its full place,” he reiterated.
The end goal, he stressed, “is clear: to achieve a just and solid peace for Ukraine and, subsequently, to continue strengthening—with everyone—a common security framework for Europe.”