Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that Russia should not be allowed to win the war in Ukraine in a hardening of its rhetoric against Moscow.
a marked change in tone of his call to world powers not to “humiliate” Vladimir Putin, the French president said Western allies must be ready to support Kiev for as long as necessary to achieve victory.
“I really hope that the end [of the conflict] can be achieved by the end of the year, with a certainty and a desire, which is that Russia cannot and must not win, ”Mr Macron told reporters at the end of the G7 summit in Bavaria.
His remarks will alleviate concerns among allies that he could force Ukraine to sign a bad peace agreement with Russia. Mr Macron has previously faced accusations of reconciliation for maintaining dialogue with the Russian leader. His remarks were seen as an attempt to align with other G7 leaders.
While the search for survivors continued in the rubble of a Ukrainian shopping center bombed by Russian forces, the French president said attacks on civilian targets showed the need to strengthen military support for Ukraine and expand sanctions against Moscow.
“Our support for Ukraine and our sanctions against Russia will continue for as long as necessary and with the necessary intensity in the coming days,” Mr Macron said.
The German chancellor, who has also been criticized for his reluctance to support Ukraine, said sanctions against Russia would only be lifted when Mr. Putin accepts that his invasion failed. Olaf Scholz said: “All the sanctions we have imposed on Crimea are still there. All the sanctions we have imposed because of the Russian-fueled uprising in Donbas are still there. And the same will apply to the decisions that are being made now, which are much more serious. “
“There is only one way out: for Putin to accept that his plans in Ukraine will not succeed,” he added. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2022)
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]