Paris, Jun. 13, (dpa/GNA) - French President Emmanuel Macron discussed long-term security guarantees for Ukraine in talks in Paris on Monday evening with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish leader Andrzej Duda.
“Ukraine is waiting for an unambiguous signal regarding a clear prospect of membership in NATO,” said Duda, who is one of the most ardent supporters of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said that was the expectation of the Ukrainian leadership and the soldiers defending Ukraine from Russia’s invasion. Duda added he hoped the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania in July would bring Ukraine the “light at the end of the tunnel” it had been longing for.
Macron was more reserved than Duda, saying the talks centred on “NATO support for Ukraine to give it all the perspectives it is entitled to.”
He hoped that the upcoming summit will make it possible to develop a clearer vision for the future of collective security.
Ukraine is hoping to get a concrete roadmap to being admitted to the Western defence alliance. Zelensky announced his bid for a speedy membership last year.
But the United States and other NATO members, like Germany, have expressed reservations, given that one of the prerequisites for joining is not being involved in international conflicts.
Another reason they have not provided definite prospects on Ukraine’s NATO accession is the fear of an unpredictable response by Moscow. The Kremlin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine not be admitted to the alliance.
For the presumably long transition period, there are now discussions about upgrading the existing NATO-Ukraine Commission to a new NATO-Ukraine Council. Such a joint advisory forum would be an important step towards being able to discuss key security issues with Ukraine on an equal footing.
Sidestepping the issue of membership, Scholz said that the main efforts are currently aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia. “We will continue to do this for as long as it is necessary, we are prepared for that.”
Macron said Ukraine’s counteroffensive began a few days ago and is expected to last several months. France has recently increased the supply of weapons and ammunition and is still supplying it.
“There is this counteroffensive. We wish that it will be as successful as possible in order to then trigger a negotiation phase under good conditions,” Macron said.
Officials in Kiev have yet to officially announce the start of the long-anticipated counteroffensive, although they have given hints it is underway.
Macron called the Russian War of Aggression a strategic and geopolitical failure for Moscow.
The tripartite meetings involving Germany, France and Poland, known as the Weimar Triangle, began in 1991 in Weimar, Germany. The talks initially sought to bring Poland and other Eastern European states closer to the European Union and NATO.
While that has since become less of a concern, the meetings resumed frequency after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Macron, Scholz and Duda met in February 2022 and then again on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February 2023.
GNA