Ukraine must become a member of NATO, and the future European security system must be built with the key participation of Kyiv and the Alliance. French President Emmanuel Macron said this in a post on the social network X.
“Ukraine’s place is inside the Alliance,” Macron wrote while commenting on the future architecture of European security. He stressed that Paris supports continuing aid to Kyiv and efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.
“Our goal is clear: to ensure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and then to continue working with everyone to strengthen a common security framework in Europe,” the French president said.
Call for Europe to clarify its expectations of the United States
Macron called on European countries to determine what they want to achieve in the period after the war. In his words, they must also clearly formulate what role they expect the United States to play in Europe’s long-term security.
The issue of the continent’s future security was among the main topics at the meetings of European leaders in Dublin. The European Council decided that Europe would be represented in the next round of talks on Ukraine by a team including representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom.
A declaration adopted on November 12 by participants in the meeting of the European Political Community states that Ukraine’s security is an integral part of Euro-Atlantic security. The document also emphasizes that issues affecting European security must be resolved with the participation of Europeans.
In 2024, NATO confirmed that Ukraine has an irreversible path to membership, but an invitation may be extended once the allies reach an agreement and the necessary conditions are met.
Macron’s position comes at a time when the United States, Russia, Ukraine and European countries are discussing possible parameters for a future agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Associated Press that Washington had raised the question of whether Kyiv would give up parts of Donbas in exchange for NATO membership. Zelensky rejected the possibility of Ukraine surrendering its territory.
Sources: interfax.ru, apnews.com