???? Live: Macron seeks to reassure Eastern Europe after Ukraine invasion

Issued on: 31/05/2023 – 14:02

Emmanuel Macron is expected to give a speech on regional security at the Globsec forum in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava on Wednesday, a month before a major NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12. 

“It is a question of sending clear signals of our determination to support Ukraine over the long term and also to review the future of Europe, the European Union and our continent, particularly in terms of security,” said the Elysée.

“It is a part of Europe that is obviously under great tension at the moment because of the situation in Ukraine and for which the NATO summit is the [immediate] strategic horizon,” an adviser to the French president said.

The heads of state and heads of government of NATO are expected to reaffirm their political and military support for Ukraine, which has been plagued for 15 months by a Russian offensive. The offensive has been a worrying development for neighbouring countries that also gained their independence from the Soviet bloc.

“We must remain united (…) There is no room for compromises and gray areas,” warned Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in front of his French counterpart at the Elysée Palace.

Emmanuel Macron has more than once sparked disapproval from his peers by suggesting not to “humiliate” Russia and to grant it, like Ukraine, “security guarantees” at the end of the war so as not to repeat the errors of 1918, which led to the rise of Nazi Germany.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)