For Paris, there is only one manager. “It must be recognized, I believe that now is clear as rock water that the only obstacle to peace in Ukraine today It’s Vladimir Putin “Said the French diplomacy chief, Jean-Noël Barrot in an interview with AFP on Thursday, stressing that Ukraine had” held his market share “.
The French minister spoke shortly after meeting his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, in the State Department, with whom he said he had “a filter without”.
Jean-Noël Barrot’s visit to Washington The day after the signing between the United States and kyiv of a mineral agreement is the day after the minerals which could ultimately perpetuate an American presence in Ukraine.
Ukraine “accepted an unconventional ceasefire and yesterday it agreed to Conclude an agreement on critical minerals “Said the French minister. “Meanwhile, Russia by Vladimir Putin had no effort, has given no sign that it is ready for ceasefire and peace to which President Donald Trump aspires and to which Europeans aspire and obviously the Ukrainians,” he said.
New sanctions discussed
The chief of French diplomacy has not dismissed the possibility that France, which according to him has “expertise” in terms of rare land, may conclude an economic agreement with Ukraine And expresses ongoing discussions on this subject. “We look at the possibilities that open to us, and we will seize them, if they are in the mutual interest of France and Ukraine,” said Jean-Noël Barrot.
He also indicated that Europeans were preparing a new Russian sanctions seriesthat they wish to coordinate with the United States, in the event of a persistent refusal of Moscow of any ceasefire in Ukraine. “We are going to be Europeans to support this American initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I undertook yesterday (Wednesday) with Lindsey Graham to what we tried to coordinate, both on the substance but also on the calendar, these two packets of sanctions,” said the French minister.
He referred to the Republican senator who proposed to tighten American sanctions against Moscow and said he had gathered nearly “70” of his colleagues, Democrats as Republicans, in support of this initiative.
President Donald Trump has not dismissed the possibility of new American sanctions against Russia if it does not accept to conclude a peace agreement with kyiv.
“A decisive moment for Europe”
The United States has been carrying out separate negotiations for weeks with Ukrainians and Russians, which have not yet succeeded, three years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They recently associated Europeans there, and Paris was the host about ten days ago of negotiations between Ukrainians, American and European.
In a statement Thursday, the State Department stressed that the interview between Jean-Noël Barrot and Marco Rubio has largely focused on the means of “advancing peace in Ukraine”. “The Secretary of State (…) has reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to collaborate closely with France and the other European partners in order to lead to lasting peace”, according to the text. But, it is added, “Europe must deploy real resources and the political will necessary to put an end to this war”.
The United States and France are old allies but since the return to power of Donald Trump in January the litigation accumulates, of which Customs duties And American pressures on Europe in particular.
For Jean-Noël Barrot, “it’s a decisive moment for Europe”. In this regard, he recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron has been calling for years to the strategic autonomy of Europe and for “a European pillar of NATO”.
On customs duties, the French official pleaded for “a de-escalation so that we came back to the situation preceding these decisions taken by the Trump administration in the interest of the United States as of Europe”, while the European Union is engaged in discussions with Washington. He wanted to recall that the United States had taken advantage of the dollar reign at length to “finance their deficit when necessary” at very cheap.
