Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reawakened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization almost four years after the French president branded the military alliance brain dead.
(Bloomberg) — Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reawakened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization almost four years after the French president branded the military alliance brain dead.
“In December 2019, I had harsh words for NATO, underlining at the time the divisions that existed at its heart between Turkey and several other powers by speaking of brain death,” Macron said in a speech at the GLOBSEC summit in Bratislava on Wednesday. “I could say today that Vladimir Putin has revived it with the worst of electroshocks.”
Macron angered some allies, especially in eastern Europe, at the time with his criticism of NATO as he pushed for Europe to build up its own defense capabilities and a more independent foreign policy. Then US President Donald Trump was pushing member countries to boost military spending and slammed the comments as “very nasty.”
The French leader said on Wednesday he wants European Union member states to discuss deeper cooperation to acquire their own striking capabilities and guarantee their own security. He invited European defense ministers to discuss the topic during a conference in Paris on June 19. He also urged countries in the bloc to purchase European-made defense equipment.
Macron told the GLOBSEC forum the point isn’t to replace NATO with a Franco-German-dominated defense set-up. “The point is to build a powerful Europe,” he said.
NATO foreign ministers began a two-day meeting in Oslo on Wednesday, where they are due to discuss Kyiv’s bid to join the military alliance as well as how to boost defense spending, with the war in its 16th month. This will be a prelude to its annual gathering starting on July 11 in Vilnius.
Macron advocated for the alliance to provide Ukraine “tangible, credible security guarantees.” He also warned that the next US administration might not be as invested in Europe in a thinly veiled reference to Trump’s possible return to power.
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