“Our generation will no longer reap the dividends of peace. It is up to us to ensure that our children reap the dividends of our commitments tomorrow,” he added.
The French leader spoke on the eve of a crisis summit in Brussels on Thursday, in which the European Union’s 27 leaders will discuss how to boost defense spending and support Ukraine in the wake of Washington’s repeated signals it is pivoting away from Europe and adopting a more conciliatory approach to Russia in the hope of striking a peace deal.
Washington paused military aid to Kyiv and has stopped intelligence sharing with Ukraine following last week’s disastrous meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Macron made it clear that he still believes Ukraine cannot be abandoned on the road to peace, nor should Europe accept a ceasefire without sufficient security guarantees. He added that he would meet with military officials from those countries willing to send peacekeeping forces — who would only be deployed once the fighting stops — to enforce a future ceasefire in Ukraine in the coming days.
Macron also accused Moscow of “testing [France’s] limits” both on the military and cyber front,” and doubled down on his claim that Russia had turned the war in Ukraine into a “global conflict.”
To face that threat without the United States, Macron said he had decided to open a strategic debate on expanding France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the country’s European allies — something incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also advocated.
