Paris [France], March 6 : French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said Russian aggression "knows no borders" and is a direct threat to Europe as European Union leaders prepare to hold emergency talks in Brussels in the wake of the Trump administration's stance on transatlantic ties, Al Jazeera reported.
"Who can believe that this Russia of today will stop at Ukraine?" Macron said in a televised address late on Wednesday, as per Al Jazeera.
In a post on X, Macron said, "Our generation will no longer receive the peace dividend. It is up to us to ensure that our children reap the dividends of our commitments tomorrow. So we will face it, together."
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1897397748502290693
Macron warned that Europe must be prepared to stand alone in the face of Russian aggression. "I want to believe the US will stay by our side," said Macron. "But we have to be ready if that isn't the case."
"The future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow," he added.
Macron added that he plans next week to hold a meeting of army chiefs from European countries willing to send troops to Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia, as per Al Jazeera.
Macron also said he would discuss with his European partners extending French nuclear deterrence to other countries on the continent, but that the decision and control would continue to remain in the French president's hands.
"France will follow only one course: that of the will for peace and freedom, faithful to its history and its principles. The homeland needs you and your commitment," Macron said in a post on X.
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1897392566200623178
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1897361567198667192
As per Al Jazeera, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Macron's speech in which he called Russia a threat to France and Europe was "extremely confrontational".
The speech indicates that France is thinking about "continuing the war". Macron did not say anything about NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders, as per Kremlin.
"One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war," said Peskov.
The conflict is a "proxy war between nuclear powers" - the US helping Ukraine and Russia - and it needs to come to an end, Al Jazeera quoted the Kremlin as saying.
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