We define red lines for Ukraine, but not for Putin / Article

Even before he started working as a minister, Adad headed the Ukrainian parliamentary relations group in the French parliament and last December he co-authored a joint letter from more than a hundred leading European lawmakers to their colleagues in the United States, asking the United States Congress to open up more military aid to Ukraine.

Latvian Television journalist Ina Strazdiņa spoke to him about the needs of Ukraine and Europe to protect themselves and how NATO should change. The conversation took place even before the US presidential election.

Benjamin Hadad: I first went to Kyiv ten years ago to support the Maidan Revolution of Dignity. For the first time in history, we saw young people being burned because they brought the flag of the European Union (EU). But it meant a better future for them, democracy, a country without corruption. We must support Ukraine on its way to the European Union. True, it will take time and reforms, but France will be with Ukraine. We also support Ukraine’s invitation to NATO, which is a long-term security commitment for Ukraine.

And the other one is, of course, military support. Europe, along with the US, has been supporting Ukraine for the past two or three years. And right now one of the most important debates is taking place in the G7, that is how to use frozen Russian funds to support Ukraine.

It will be around 50 billion euros, mostly for the military support of Ukraine. And this is crucial, because the winter is approaching and Russia will try again to shell power systems and undermine the confidence of the Ukrainians. That is why it is very important that we continue to support the brave Ukrainians.

Ina Strazdiņa: But Europe and the US are not yet ready to provide long-range missiles.

France’s position is very clear – if there are air strikes and clearly military objects from which they came, and if civilian infrastructure is targeted, Ukraine has the right to defend itself.

President Emmanuel Macron already said a couple of months ago – for the past two and a half years, we have set many red lines for Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin has not.

We have said no to guns, not to tanks, not to long-range weapons, or to airplanes. Imagine what if we had given everything away from day one? Maybe last year’s attack would have been completely different as a result? Instead of setting red lines for ourselves and Ukraine, let’s help them so that Ukrainians can do everything necessary to protect themselves.

If peace talks were to be reached, the question arises – what would happen to Buča, Irpina, Mariupol and other crimes committed by the Russian army?

First, it is extremely important to remember and shed light on these crimes. I myself was in Buch two years ago, when the town was liberated, and I spoke to the residents of the place, the mayor of the town. There are also cases of child abduction, which France strongly condemns. The International Criminal Court has opened cases and we fully support it. International laws must be respected, they are non-negotiable.

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How do you see the victory of Ukraine, the end of this war?

President Volodymyr Zelensky has presented a very comprehensive victory plan.

This provides for continued military support, so using frozen Russian assets in Europe to help Ukraine would be a very important step. And then there is the political process – joining the European Union and reliable security guarantees. We think there will be NATO membership when the war is over, but we need to talk to our friends about the security commitments that Ukraine needs to have for long-term deterrence and stability.

Would a Ukrainian victory mean a return to the territories they occupied in 1991?

Any discussion of the consequences must respect the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

How do you see how NATO should change, develop, because we are in a state of war?

As you know, France is an active member of NATO and ready to support its partners. We have troops in Romania, Poland, Estonia, we have strong ties with Latvia, and we want to strengthen and increase them even more.

But really, seeing the issues that are emerging in the US, we – Europe – need to strengthen our NATO pillar, we need to increase defense spending.

Latvia has been excellent in this regard. France has doubled its defense spending under President Macron. And it must continue.

At the European level, we need to increase defense cooperation and make sure that we have a sufficient defense industry, that it is faster and provides everything we need and what the Ukrainians. This is absolutely essential if we want to be the makers of our own destiny. And the US has always asked Europe to take more responsibility, especially since the US has its own priorities in Asia.