18:27 05.03.2024

Macron for involvement of non-European countries to meet military needs of Ukraine

3 min read
Macron for involvement of non-European countries to meet military needs of Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron supported the initiative to attract the production capacities of non-European countries to meet Ukraine's ammunition needs.

"We have accelerated and increased our production in Europe. We delivered those stocks [of ammunition to Ukraine] that were available. Ukraine's needs are at such a level that we must now look beyond what we can produce and what we have in stock. That's the point of this initiative. And look for the remaining capacities in third, non-European countries to meet Ukraine's short-term ammunition needs," Macron said at a joint press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel in Prague on Tuesday.

He noted that the Czech initiative on ammunition is "an important addition that we adhere to, and therefore we will work together," and announced the further work of the ministers of the two countries on this issue on Tuesday afternoon.

Also, according to the French president, agreements were reached in Paris last Monday on the demining of the territory of Ukraine, the situation on the border with Belarus, on the issue of Moldova and its protection, as well as on the issue of industrial joint production on Ukrainian soil and cyber support. "There are already several cooperation projects on these actions, and relations with the Czech Republic are very strong," Macron said.

Regarding frozen Russian assets, according to him, France's position is as follows: "We fully support the proposal to tax income from assets that have been identified and whose legal framework has been clarified by Eurocleer, which amounts to EUR 3 billion to EUR 5 billion per year." "We ourselves are not supporters of what is prohibited by international law, and the beginning of such a debate, I believe, would weaken Europe, where many of these assets are located, and, if I may say so, would create doubts. So I'm here for us to defend the rule of law by applying it to the end," Macron said.

"On the other hand, I am in favor of financing our efforts, including through more innovative European financing ... consisting in providing national budget guarantees for issuance on the common debt market in order to finance our industrial and military efforts. This is one of the options that France supports," the French president added.

He stressed that in the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, "part of our future is at stake and that our ability to defend ourselves autonomously." At the same time, Macaron noted that he would not disclose in detail all action plans in order not to weaken the effectiveness of this assistance to Ukraine.

"Our principles are simple: Russia cannot and should not win this war. We want to support Ukraine, a sovereign nation that decides for itself what it needs … Secondly, we don't want an escalation … And thirdly, we must preserve our ability to protect ourselves. In this context, we will continue very specific cooperation with the Ukrainians on our supplies, our cooperation, and then the possibility of mobilizing third parties," Macron concluded.

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