Macron to speak with other European leaders Monday on further aid to Ukraine
That’s according to Macron’s diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne, who spoke at a briefing on Sunday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Our message will be to show our resolve and do everything possible to defeat Russia. We are not fatalistic, we are not set for doom and gloom. We are determined," he said. According to the adviser, the leader of France seeks to achieve a "collective leap forward" in the matter of aid to Ukraine.
The working meeting will take place in the form of "a very open discussion, which should contribute to the resolution of the critical issue of financial and military support to Ukraine, at a time when American aid currently remains frozen, blocked by President Joe Biden’s Republican opponents in Congress," Bonne explained.
According to Macron's spokesman, the scheduled meeting is a result of extraordinary mobilization as the decision to hold it was made just a week ago, on February 17.
Tentative reports say leaders of Romania, Poland, Finland, and Lithuania are expected to attend the meeting, as well as Chancellor Scholz of Germany, UK Foreign Minister Cameron, Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain, Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, and his counterparts from Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and others, who have already confirmed their participation.
The United States will be represented by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O'Brien, and Canada – by Defense Minister Bill Blair.
According to Macron's Office, the meeting will not serve as an occasion to announce new arms deliveries to Ukraine, but rather to brainstorm ways to improve efficiency and strengthen coordination between allies and Ukraine.
It should be recalled French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that all Ukraine's agreements on cooperation and security with other nations complement each other, but history has already shown that it’s concrete commitments that work rather than vague agreements. Macron said this at a joint conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris after a bilateral security agreement between France and Ukraine was signed.
