Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – French Minister of the Overseas Manuel Valls said Europe is at a turning point in terms of its ties with the U.S. which pushes Europe more than ever before to protect Ukraine and increase its defence spending.
“We are at a turning point,”
Valls told France Info radio in an interview.
“This forces us more than ever before to support our defence for Ukraine, and to increase our defence spending budget and to be on the front foot,”
Also said Valls, who is France’s overseas territories minister and an ex-prime minister.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Donald Trump’s return to the White House was an “electroshock” that should push Europe to guarantee its own future as well as Ukraine’s. The French president cautioned against peace in Ukraine that would amount to “capitulation”.
How will Macron’s caution affect peace negotiations in Ukraine?
Macron expressed only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could mediate on behalf of his nation with Russia to finish the war, cautioning a “peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone.”
“The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it’s up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia,”
Macron stated in an interview.
US President Donald Trump separately debated the fight with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky and told US officials to start talks on finishing the nearly three-year-long dispute. Trump, talking to reporters at the White House stated Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace talks with Moscow over concluding the war.
Macron further said that Trump had formed a “window of opportunity” for a negotiated resolution, where “everyone has to play their role”, saying that it is now up to Ukraine to examine territorial and sovereignty matters.
