International

Emmanuel Macron: If Russia wins in Ukraine, Romania and Moldova will be threatened

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that Russia would not halt its territorial ambitions if it wins its war in Ukraine, posing a threat to the neighbouring countries of Moldova, Romania and Poland, AFP reports.

"Russia has become a power that wants to expand and it's clear that it will not stop there," Macron posted on X after an interview on French TV. "If we abandon Ukraine, if we let Ukraine lose this war, Russia will surely threaten Moldova, Romania, Poland."

“Do you think that the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Estonians, the Romanians and the Bulgarians could remain at peace for a second [in the event of a Russian victory in Ukraine]?” he asked. “If Russia wins this war, Europe’s credibility would be reduced to zero.”

Asked to clarify his stance on sending ground troops, the French president said: “We will never go on the offensive, we will never take the initiative.

“France is a force for peace ... Today, in order to have peace in Ukraine, we must not be weak, and so we must look at the situation lucidly and say with determination, strong will and courage that we are ready to use all the means at our disposal to achieve our objective, which is that Russia should not win.”

The French leader reiterated his position that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out, but said that today’s situation does not require that.

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