France President Macron tells the friends of Ukraine not to be “cowards”

PRAGUE: On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, asked Ukraine’s friends to help the nation repel the Russian invasion and not to act like “cowards” in doing so.
He went on to say that he “fully stood behind” the contentious comments made last week that sent shivers through Europe and did not completely rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine.
“Europe is undoubtedly nearing a time when it will be imperative to resist cowardice,” Macron said while in the Czech Republic, a country that is supporting Ukraine’s intention to purchase weapons from outside of Europe.

After meeting with his Czech colleague Petr Pavel, he made the following statement: “Is this our battle, or is it not? Is it possible for us to turn aside and trust that things will work themselves out?”
“I don’t believe so, and therefore I called for a strategic surge, and I fully stand behind that,” Macron said.
Following his remarks on February 26, the majority of Macron’s European partners said they would not be sending soldiers to Ukraine.
Furthermore, French authorities emphasized that rather than engaging in combat with Russian soldiers, any such forces may be sent to support missions like demining.
Macron said on Tuesday, “We want no escalation; we’ve never been belligerent.”
Payment for shells
Former NATO commander Pavel said that the friends of Ukraine should look for “new ways” to support them, but he also said that the West would not cross “the imaginary red line” by intervening in military operations.
He said that there would be “no violation of international rules” for NATO nations to train Ukrainian forces there, for example.
The presidents also addressed Prague’s proposal, first put up by Pavel at a Munich security conference last month, to raise funds to purchase munitions for Ukraine from sources outside of Europe.
The proposal to purchase 300,000 122-millimeter shells and 500,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition for around $1.5 billion has received backing from nearly 15 different countries.
Macron reaffirmed France’s support for the proposal on Tuesday, although he did not specify how much. The Netherlands has already committed to giving $108.5 million, or 100 million euros.
Thus far, Paris has favored European weaponry manufacture for EU funding and directed defense expenditure into its own sector.
Macron did support the idea of utilizing the money that Russia’s frozen assets in Europe bring in to finance Ukraine’s defense, putting the estimated annual earnings at between three and five billion euros ($3.25 and 5.4 billion). However, he insisted that the capital should stay intact.
“We are not in favor of doing things forbidden by international law and opening a debate that I believe would weaken Europe,” he said.
Macron, along with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, signed a bilateral cooperation agreement for 2024–2028, which the French president lauded as a “foundation for long-term industrial and strategic partnership.”.
In the Czech capital, Macron also spoke at a nuclear symposium that was attended by a number of French energy businesses, such as the massive power company EDF, the distributor of nuclear fuel Orano, and the manufacturer of nuclear reactors Framatome.
The Czech Republic’s multibillion-euro competition to construct up to four additional units at its Temelin and Dukovany nuclear power facilities is being contested by the EDF and South Korea’s KHNP.
Macron declared “full support of France” for EDF’s application, which is scheduled for submission in April.
In place of Russia’s TVEL, Orano earlier on Tuesday inked an agreement with the state-run electricity firm CEZ in the Czech Republic to enrich uranium for the Dukovany facility.