Emmanuel Macron promised Thursday that France and its allies will decide on sanctions “without weakness” against Russia, both “on the military and economic level as well as in the field of energy”, during a speech recorded at the Elysee. “The events of tonight are a turning point in the history of Europe and our country. They will have lasting, profound consequences on our lives” and “on the geopolitics of our continent”, warned the French president with gravity, at the end of a defense council meeting urgently. “We will support Ukraine without hesitation, and we will take all our responsibilities to protect the sovereignty and security of our European allies,” he added.
The Élysée clarified that the “military” measures of which the Head of State spoke meant the sending of additional troops to Romania under the aegis of NATO, which will be the subject of discussions at a summit. NATO on Friday. “To this act of war, we will respond without weakness” by decisions that will be taken during the G7 and the European Council on Thursday evening, added the President of the Republic, who was speaking with the Ukrainian flag in the background, to the sides of the French and European flags.
“Let’s not give up our unity”
Vladimir Putin “has decided to carry out the most serious attack on peace, on stability in our Europe for decades”, declared the head of state. “Let’s not give up any of our unity”, he also launched to the French, “unity around our principles of freedom, sovereignty and democracy”.
“A message from me will be delivered tomorrow in Parliament and I will come back to you in the coming hours to keep you informed of developments in the situation and the decisions that I will be required to take,” he said. . To coordinate their response, Westerners will meet in a virtual G7 this Thursday at 3 p.m., a European summit is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Brussels and a NATO summit by videoconference on Friday morning.
Consult our file: Boot noises in Ukraine
