The French president explained that there are criteria to take into account before making any decision, such as preventing the petition from escalating and reaching Russian soil, “but rather helping the resistance effort.”
Follow our live war blog here
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that “nothing is prohibited in principle” when asked in The Hague about the possibility of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia.
The French president mentioned that there are criteria to take into account before making any decision, such as preventing the request do not lead to an escalation and do not reach Russian soil, “but help the resistance effort” and without “weakening the capacity of the French Army.”
“By definition, nothing is excluded,” Macron said, noting that “it is in light of these three criteria” that France is analyzing “a case by case” the shipment of military equipment, including Leclerc tanks.
“It is according to the requests that are made, but not according to the rumors that are made” that decisions are made, he stressed, specifying that the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksiï Reznikov, is expected to meet this Tuesday in Paris with his French representatives . counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, for his part, that “there is no taboo, but it would be a big step” if the fighter jets reached Ukrainian forces.
Both leaders said they had not received any requests from kyiv, and Rutte agreed with the criteria mentioned by the French president.
After several weeks of doubt, Berlin decided on Wednesday to send 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other European countries to supply them.
But Germany will not send fighter jets to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.
The United States, for its part, has committed to sending Abrams heavy tanks, while the United Kingdom will supply Challenger 2 armored cars.
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and almost eight million to European countries-, according to the latest data from the UN, which catalogs this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Right now, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion—justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security—was condemned by the broader international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia. of political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 7,110 civilian deaths and 11,547 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, emphasizing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: Observadora
