The French president and his German host underlined the sovereignty of the attacked country and his decision to defend democracy in the face of Russian aggression
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged reform of the European Union, emphasized the prospects for accession of the Western Balkan countries and reiterated their solidarity with Ukraine, whose application for membership is being studied in Brussels. “Ukraine belongs to the European family,” Scholz said after receiving the French president with military honors on his first visit abroad since his re-election. In light of the offensive war that Russia has launched with the invasion of Ukraine, Europeans are aware of the well-being, security and freedom enjoyed within the EU, Scholz said, while Macron emphasized that both countries and their NATO partners and the European Union will do everything possible to prevent the war from spreading to other countries.
The French president and his German host underlined the sovereignty of the attacked country and his resolve to defend democracy against Russian aggression. Scholz noted the need to act quickly to end the war and demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime withdraw all its troops from the occupied territories, in addition to warning Moscow that neither the Ukrainians nor the Western countries will will accept peace dictated by the Kremlin. Macron, for his part, championed new perspectives for Ukraine’s rapprochement with Europe and reforming the EU to become a European confederation, abandoning unanimous decision-making and betting on majorities. While Ukraine’s accession process could be accelerated, it will inevitably take several years, added the French head of state, who favored new procedures to give the Kiev authorities more prospects.
“The war has returned to our continent,” said Macron, for whom this necessitates a review of European defense policy objectives and minimize the continent’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels. “We live in a change of era,” explained Olaf Scholz, noting that Franco-German friendship is more important than ever. “Europe can only be a success if we are united,” the chancellor added. Asked about his opinion on the victory parade over Nazi Germany 77 years ago that was held in Moscow on Monday, the head of the German government pointed out that “the most important thing is that a new escalation does not take shape, at least not as far as the rhetorical level “, but stressed that “we will see what really happens in Ukraine”, while Macron noted that “we have not seen any verbal escalation, but that is not enough for us: we want a ceasefire as soon as possible. Otherwise The French president also stated that possible new sanctions against Russia will be discussed during his working dinner with Scholz. “We will discuss that on Monday,” said the French politician, who stated that Ukraine will provide aid continue to receive from the West, including from the military.
Source: La Verdad
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