French President Emmanuel Macron has said Russian aggression “knows no borders” and is a direct threat to Europe as European Union leaders prepare to hold emergency talks in Brussels in the wake of the Trump administration’s stance on transatlantic ties.
“Who can believe that this Russia of today will stop at Ukraine?” Macron said in a televised address late on Wednesday.
All 27 EU leaders will gather for Thursday’s defence summit for the first time since the explosive meeting in the Oval Office between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. Trump has since softened his tone on Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to sign a controversial mineral deal with the US. Zelenskyy’s insistence that Washington provide a security guarantee in lieu of the deal invited Trump’s wrath.
Washington says Ukraine’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – established in 1949 against the Soviet Union threat – is “unrealistic” and has threatened to withdraw American troops from Europe, asking European allies to step up their defence spending.
Trump has reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin without involving his European allies in his push to end the Ukraine war. In his statements, he has blamed Ukraine for the war, which was triggered by Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has since halted military aid as well as intelligence sharing with Ukraine, critical for Kyiv’s defence against Russia.
Trump’s Ukraine policy
The Ukraine policy shift has sent US allies scrambling, with EU leaders openly questioning Washington’s reliability as a security partner going forward. They also fear that Kyiv and Europe’s interests will be overlooked in any deal to end the biggest conflict on the continent since World War II.
Macron warned that Europe must be prepared to stand alone in the face of Russian aggression. “I want to believe the US will stay by our side,” said Macron. “But we have to be ready if that isn’t the case.”
“The future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,” he added.
The French leader added that he plans next week to hold a meeting of army chiefs from European countries willing to send troops to Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia.
Macron also said he would discuss with his European partners extending French nuclear deterrence to other countries on the continent, but that the decision and control would continue to remain in the French president’s hands.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a phone call to journalists that Macron’s televised address had been “extremely confrontational” and that it was clear that France wasn’t thinking about peace.
“One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war,” Peskov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Peskov’s comments, saying during a press conference in Moscow that Macron’s comments about discussing nuclear deterrence with European allies were a “threat” against Russia.
Other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have embraced Zelenskyy and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine at weekend talks in London after the White House blowup.
‘Europe’s very survival at stake’
At the Brussels meeting, EU leaders will contemplate the ramifications of Trump’s unpredictable and transactional approach to foreign policy. Zelenskyy will also attend the summit.
While the Brussels meeting will aim to cement European support for Kyiv, it is unlikely to yield any major announcements of aid beyond the 30 billion euros ($32.4bn) the bloc has already committed this year. EU leaders are also expected to discuss a proposal by the European Commission to borrow up to 150 billion euros ($162bn) to lend to member states under a rearmament plan.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out an 800-billion-euro ($863bn) plan to “re-arm Europe” and assume responsibility for the continent’s defence.
“There’s a real fear that the US could step away and leave Europe vulnerable to Russian aggression, or other aggression. There is a feeling here that Europe’s very survival and future could be at stake,” Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Brussels, said.
She said that EU leaders will be talking about how “to rearm Europe, how to make sure that Europe could become sovereign in terms of defence, to bolster and increase defence spending across the European Union and military coordination.”
Butler said a peace plan proposed by France and the United Kingdom will also be discussed. “We know the plan involves sending European peacekeepers to ensure any potential ceasefire in Ukraine in the future.”
Macron bringing up the nuclear deterrent has not really been discussed before, but “this shows the sense of urgency that is being felt here in Europe in terms of its own security”, the Al Jazeera correspondent said.
