Macron slams "defeatist rhetoric" about Ukraine: This is huge strategic mistake
French President Emmanuel Macron said that a future peace in Ukraine cannot mean concessions to Russian demands, pointing to Moscow’s weakness and isolation after four years of full-scale aggression.
He said this in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Censor.NET reports.
Russia is weakened
Macron expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts toward a peaceful settlement.
"It must be long-lasting and the strongest possible. And I want to believe we are moving toward that. But as discussions take shape, Russia continues to kill civilians and destroy energy facilities with the clear aim of forcing Ukrainians to submit. The response cannot be to concede to Russia’s demands. Instead, we must increase pressure on Russia," he stressed.
Macron also urged a broader view, noting that after four years of full-scale war, Russia has become a weakened country.
"It has spent excessive sums on the war and is now entering a recession. It is economically isolated and fully dependent on China. It already faces a serious demographic problem — it has lost hundreds of thousands of young lives because of an illusion. It wanted to fight NATO enlargement — this ended with Sweden and Finland joining NATO. It wanted to weaken Europe — Europe has grown stronger," the French leader noted.
Macron mentions the critics of Ukraine
"And when I hear some defeatist rhetoric about Ukraine, when I hear some leaders call on Ukraine to accept that they have also been defeated, overestimating Russia — this is a huge strategic mistake, because it is not true," Macron stressed.
According to him, it is necessary to ensure that any peace settlement preserves European security, deters Russia from further attempts at aggression, and does not set an example for the rest of the world.
