PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron was set on Wednesday to host a new meeting on Ukraine in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he called an “existential threat” from Russia after a shock policy shift in Washington.
Macron planned to speak to leaders of around 15 countries, with most taking part by video link, according to the presidency.
US president Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by indicating he is ready to resume diplomacy with President Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia’s war against Ukraine and discuss the fate of the pro-Western country over the heads of not only Europe but also Kyiv.
Urging a coordinated response to Washington’s shock policy shift on Russia, Macron on Monday convened key European leaders as well as Nato and EU chiefs for emergency talks.
Several smaller European countries including Romania and the Czech Republic were reportedly aghast at not being invited despite being strong supporters of Ukraine, with Macron convening a new meeting on Wednesday.
The French president was set to hold talks in person with Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan on Wednesday afternoon, the presidency said in a statement.
The two leaders then planned to take part in an “informal videoconference meeting” with other heads of state and government, the Elysee said.
The statement did not provide further details, but leaders of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Croatia were expected to take part.
French daily Le Monde pointed to the “frustration of the European countries” that were not invited to Monday’s talks.
But Le Monde also said that the leaders of some of these countries were in a difficult political situation as they are “confronted with a strong increase in pro-Russian forces on their domestic political scene”.
France has been one of Ukraine’s main Western backers since Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
‘Must open our eyes’
“Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans,” Macron said in an interview with French regional newspapers published on Tuesday.
He appeared open to the idea of sending forces to Ukraine but emphasised that this could take place only in the most limited fashion and away from conflict zones.
Paris was not “preparing to send ground troops, which are belligerent to the conflict”, he said.
But France was considering, along with Britain, to send “experts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone”.
Macron also tried to put a brave face on days of head-spinning US declarations, suggesting that Trump “can restart a useful dialogue” with Putin.
Foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday told broadcaster RTL that France may have to make some difficult choices.
“Russia has decided to make enemies of us, and we must open our eyes, realise the scale of the threat and protect ourselves,” he said.
“If we do nothing, if we remain blind to the threat, the front line will move ever closer to our borders.”
