Bucharest: French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that “it is the reality of things” that Ukraine and Europe “will have to negotiate” with Russia over the ongoing war at some point.
While on his visit to meet the French troops at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in eastern Romania, Macron said, “The only desirable end to the conflict is either a Ukrainian military victory or talks at some point because fighting has stopped, so at some point we must talk. We Europeans will be around the table to negotiate, at some point that will happen.”
CNN quoted the French leader, on a two-day visit to Romania and Moldova, stressed that France is not at war with Russia, despite European support for Ukraine.
“The difficulty in which we were all plunged, is that while we condemn, we sanction, we support the Ukrainians in their fight but we are not at war with Russia,” he said.
He further said that the current deployment of French forces to NATO’s eastern flank “will increase in strength.”
According to the French armed forces, France has about 500 troops deployed in Romania under NATO command other than fighter and surveillance aircraft, and about 300 troops in Poland and Estonia.
