French Defense Ministry calls on EU to strengthen Ukrainian army amid Russian statements
The Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Sebastien Lecornu, called on the EU to mobilize and emphasized the importance of strengthening the Ukrainian army in the medium and long term, especially in view of Russia’s statements about the alleged need to “demilitarize” Ukraine. That’s what he’s about stated after a meeting with the defense ministers of Germany, Italy, Poland and Great Britain, which took place in Rome.
“We are beginning to spend a lot of time planning the next steps in Ukraine. Obviously, there is a lot of uncertainty about whether Russia will agree to a ceasefire. But at the same time, we understand very well that it is necessary to hold positions of power and be responsible for them.”, – noted Lecornyu.
According to him, it is necessary to form a clear strategy for the support and strengthening of the Ukrainian Defense Forces for the long term, taking into account the “demands of Russia”.
“As you know, among Russia’s demands is, in fact, a form of demilitarization of Ukraine, which is obviously part of the discussions held by Moscow. Therefore, it is important for us not only to continue helping Ukraine in the short term, but also to do it in the medium and long term.”, – emphasized the French minister.
He noted that the implementation of such aid requires the involvement of all possible financial resources, in particular through coordination not only between individual states, but also through the mechanisms of the European Union.
We will remind that on May 16, negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul. According to media reports, the Russian side voiced tough demands, in particular regarding “the neutral status of Ukraine without foreign military forces and weapons of mass destruction”, as well as “recognition of the loss of Crimea and four other regions”.
