PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of bringing Europe to the precipice of a new world war on Thursday during a live social media appearance.
“The Russians have globalized the war in Ukraine,” Macron said in response to a question asking if Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to World War III.
While the French president said he is “wary of bold words,” he pointed out that Russia is using Iranian drones to strike targets in Ukraine and has deployed of North Korean troops to the front lines.
“There’s a conflict in Ukraine, in which Russians, as a matter of fact, have made things global,” Macron said. “Will [the war] be limited to this theater? Let’s hope so,” Macron said.
Macron’s stinging rebuke of the Kremlin’s war comes as Western leaders scramble to react to as U.S. President Donald Trump looks likely to abandon the transatlantic alliance that has underpinned the European security since 1945.
The French president confirmed his plans to travel to Washington next week, where he will try to convince Trump that caving to Putin’s demands would make him appear weak in the eyes of China and Iran. Macron also contradicted the U.S. president’s description of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator,” saying the Ukrainian leader was the democratically elected. Macron also defended Zelenskyy’s decision not to hold new elections in 2024 in the middle of a war during which millions are seeking refuge overseas or in active combat.
Macron said he organized the live feed, which lasted more than an hour, to educate the French on the issues the country is facing and push back on some of the “fake news” he’s seen in recent days. Among the issues he was asked about were rumors of a draft, which he shot down.
However, Macron urged viewers to realize that “we’re entering a time when each and every one of us must ask ourselves what we can do for the nation.”
“You have a role to play,” Macron said.
Macron made several references to World War II and to former President Charles de Gaulle, who led the French Liberation Army’s resistance against German occupation. The current French president insisted that stepping up to Russia was necessary to defend the country’s interests.
While Macron declined to compare Russia to Nazi Germany in the 1930s, he said it is important to look at Putin’s country “for what it is: it is a dangerous military power that has become imperialist.”
Macron was also asked about building a common European army, but he said the effort would prove to be complicated due to diverging views within the bloc on defense strategy. However, he used the question as an opportunity to renew his calls for European strategic autonomy and common loans to pay for defense spendings.
It’s unclear how much more debt France can take on, as the country is facing a budgetary crisis which has prompted the current government to drastically cut spending.
Macron said that increasing French spending on defense to 5 percent of gross domestic product — which Trump has asked of NATO members — was “one of the questions” he was looking into.
Earlier in the day, Macron gathered French political party heads to discuss the war in Ukraine and mentioned that spending 5 percent of GDP on defense could be on the table if the United States “decided to stop protecting Europe,” radio station France Inter reported.
Will Ukraine turn into WW3? Macron doesn’t rule it out
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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