Macron calls for collective EU security pact, dialogue with Russia
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French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe to band together for a new security pact against Russia that would involve "frank dialogue" with it.
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Principles agreed with Russia 30 years ago would be at the heart of this dialogue
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged fellow European countries to invest in Europe's own security framework against Russia, he said in his address marking France's six-month rotating presidency of the European Council.
Macron also called for frank dialogue with Russia.
He said Europe needed to build its own collective security pact, and re-arm itself, amid escalating tensions sparked by NATO's moves in Ukraine, and Russia's concerns which NATO has so far failed to address.
The proposition also marked a break from Western solidarity vis-a-vis Russia. “We should build as Europeans working with other Europeans and with NATO and then propose it for negotiation with Russia,” Macron told French lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday. “It is good that Europeans and the United States coordinate, but it is necessary that Europeans conduct their own dialogue.”
This framework would also include principles agreed upon with Russia close to 30 years ago, Macron said, such as rejecting coercion, the use of force, that states should have the right to enter whatever alliances they wish, and the "rejection of spheres of influence." The French President stressed that "frank and demanding" talks with Russia were necessary.
Europe's defense is primarily secured by the US-led NATO alliance, which is why Macron's calls for Europe's own security pact may signal disunity in NATO.
