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News > France

Negotiations Needed to Bring Ceasefire in Ukraine: Macron

  • President Emmanuel Macron in NATO's battlegroup in Romania, June 15, 2022..

    President Emmanuel Macron in NATO's battlegroup in Romania, June 15, 2022.. | Photo: Twitter/ @JFC_Naples

Published 15 June 2022
Opinion

"We want to build peace, which means that at some point the fire must stop and the talks must resume," the French president said.

Ukraine's President Vodolymyr Zelenzky will have to negotiate with Russia, and the Europeans will also be present at the negotiating table, bringing security guarantees, visiting French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base in southeastern Romania.

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"We want to build peace, which means that at some point the fire must stop and the talks must resume," Macron told a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis after their talks at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.

Macron emphasized that France had taken steps to prevent the conflict. According to him, France will continue to support Ukraine to defend itself, to help it economically, financially, and in terms of the humanitarian plan.

Iohannis expressed thanks for the French military's presence in Romania and for France's assumption of the role of NATO battle group leader in the country. According to him, "a special focus of our discussions was on the preparation of the NATO Summit in Madrid, which will take key decisions for the future of the alliance and for our common security."

"We firstly discussed the need to strengthen the deterrence and defense posture on the Eastern Flank, especially, certainly, on the Black Sea, about the new strategic concept, about the support of the Alliance partners and the prospects of Sweden and Finland's accession," Iohannis said, adding that Romania is determined to play a positive role in solving the problem related to the transport of cereals from Ukraine to international markets.

"We have transported hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to Constanta and from there to the markets of the world, but, obviously, a significant increase in this capacity is needed and we are, together with our partners, willing and interested to develop these ways quickly," Iohannis pointed out.

On Tuesday night, Macron arrived in Romania to greet 500 French soldiers deployed at the NATO base. He will leave for Chisinau later on Wednesday.

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