{"id":1246,"date":"2025-03-26T20:33:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=1246"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:27:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:27:37","slug":"macron-warns-proposed-peacekeeping-force-could-respond-if-attacked-by-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/macron-warns-proposed-peacekeeping-force-could-respond-if-attacked-by-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron warns proposed peacekeeping force could \u2018respond\u2019 if attacked by Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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French President Emmanuel Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today (Picture: AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> has said European armed forces could \u2018respond\u2019 if Russia<\/a> attacks Ukraine again.<\/p>\n

The French leader said the proposed European armed forces, which could be deployed to Ukraine<\/a> under an eventual peace deal, would lead the response. <\/p>\n

His remarks came after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and before a summit in Paris which will discuss the proposed \u2018European\u2019 peacekeeping force. <\/p>\n

\u2018If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then it\u2019s our usual framework of engagement,\u2019 Macron said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Macron has been driving coalition-building efforts for a Ukraine force with UK Prime Sir Minister Keir Starmer, but it\u2019s still unclear what aid they are preparing that could contribute towards their goal of a lasting ceasefire.<\/p>\n

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The two leaders hugged after the high-profile chat today in France (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Macron said the proposed European forces would not be stationed on the front lines in Ukraine, or be \u2018engaged on the first day opposite Russian forces\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a pacifist approach,\u2019 he said. \u2018The only ones who would, at that moment, trigger a conflict, a bellicose situation, would be the Russians if they decided again to launch an aggression.\u2019<\/p>\n

Macron is expecting 31 delegations around the table on Thursday morning at the presidential Elysee Palace \u2013 of a coalition to help Ukraine, with one notable exception \u2013 the US.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump has shown no public enthusiasm for the coalition\u2019s discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick.<\/p>\n

The US president\u2019s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic,\u2019 he previously said.<\/p>\n

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The Eiffel Tower was lit up in the colours of the Ukraine flag (Picture: AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Primarily, any contingent consists of combat units, but they are above all intended to control the situation, monitor it, carry out joint training, and also to prevent any desire by Russia to return with renewed waves of aggression,\u2019 Zelensky\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

European officials say that under any peace deal, Ukraine\u2019s first line of defence against any future Russian aggression would be Ukraine\u2019s own army.<\/p>\n

But a European coalition dedicated to Ukrainian aid appears to be gaining strength. <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Macron called for a \u2018united Europe\u2019 to stand up to\u00a0Russian aggression<\/a>\u00a0by spending billions more on defence.<\/p>\n

In a television address, he said the world was entering a \u2018new era\u2019 and a \u2018global conflict\u2019 was already underway.<\/a><\/p>\n

He said: \u2018Our nuclear deterrent protects us: it\u2019s complete, sovereign, French through and through. <\/p>\n

\u2018But, responding to the historic call of the future\u00a0German<\/a>\u00a0Chancellor, I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our (nuclear) deterrence.\u2019<\/p>\n

He said the use of France\u2019s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today (Picture: AFP) President Emmanuel Macron has said European armed forces could \u2018respond\u2019 if Russia attacks Ukraine again. The French leader said the proposed European armed forces, which could be deployed to Ukraine under an eventual peace deal, would lead the response. His remarks came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russia-ukraine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1251,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1246\/revisions\/1251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}