“I know that I can count on you to show, in the execution of your missions, great vigilance and the necessary restraint in the event of possible interference”wrote French President Emmanuel Macron, Monday, February 28, 2022, in a rare “message to the armies” broadcast by the Élysée.
He referred to the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched on Thursday as “the most serious and uninhibited display of power by the Russian regime since the end of the USSR” while recalling that the French forces knew “regularly” from “friction with Russian forces, regular or irregular” in the Atlantic, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa.
“Recently, the Russian head of state chose to give the crisis an unjustified dimension”underlined the French President, after Vladimir Putin put his deterrent forces on high alert and his ally, Belarus, organized a referendum on Sunday February 27 which eliminates the obligation for the former Soviet republic to stay one “nuclear-free zone”.
“In this context of strong tensions, France knows that it can once again count on its armies”insisted the president, who expressed to the French soldiers his ” trust “ and his “recognition for (their) commitment”.
“Together, we will face this crisis, maintain our permanent postures” and “will continue […] our operational commitments”he concluded.
A Russian president “locked in a logic of confrontation”
The Europeans and their allies are ready to take additional sanctions against Russia, the Elysée indicated on Monday evening, after a videoconference which brought together French, American, British, Canadian, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Romanian leaders, as well as than the EU and NATO.
Previously, Emmanuel Macron had exchanged for 1 h 30 with Vladimir Putin, asking him to stop the strikes against civilians and to secure the roads in Ukraine, points on which the Russian president “confirmed its willingness to engage”, according to the Elysee. But the head of state judged the Russian president “ very determined and locked in a logic of confrontation”added the French presidency.
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