At the start of an international conference on Ukraine in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a joint “leap” in aid to Ukraine. Around 20 heads of state and government were expected.
“Russia is preparing new attacks,” Macron said at the start of the conference. The tougher line was demonstrated by the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, but also by disinformation campaigns in the West. “So it’s also about our security,” Macron said. “It takes a collective leap from all of us.”
Nehammer for negotiations
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) spoke out in favor of negotiations with Russia. It is about showing “full solidarity” with Kiev and at the same time “working to put an end to the dying”. Nehammer called for the BRICS states to be “much more closely involved” to be able to exert sufficient pressure on Russia and President Vladimir Putin to end the war of aggression.
The group of states includes, among others, Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa. At the beginning of the year it was expanded to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Nehammer was the last Western head of government to meet Putin in person. He also did not rule out a future meeting with Putin.
The conference at the Élysée Palace started at 5pm. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to participate via video conference. In the CNN interview, he insisted on rapid approval of new US military aid. If there is no support, Ukraine will not be able to boast any new successes, he told the US broadcaster in an interview recorded yesterday. Nehammer emphasized that he supported Zelensky's peace plan as well as the planned peace conference in Switzerland.
A Macron adviser had previously explained that the aim of the conference was to send a clear message to Putin “that he will not win in Ukraine”. The meeting was not intended to announce new arms deliveries to Ukraine. According to Zelensky, Ukraine has so far received less than a third of the millions of artillery shells promised by the EU.