Macron urges the US to take part in talks to settle Ukraine conflict
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As the US is beginning to enforce protective measures to its market, Macron seeks to corner the US President by calling on the Pope to settle the Ukraine conflict.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis
French President Emmanuel Macron urged the US on Tuesday to actively engage in efforts to reach a political settlement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Macron met with Pope Francis to discuss the situation in Ukraine, the humanitarian toll of the conflict, and to convince US President Joe Biden on engaging in talks to resolve the conflict.
"We have to draw the US to the negotiating table to advance peace process in Ukraine," Macron was quoted by Le Point newspaper as saying following his trip to the Vatican.
He added that Pope Francis' close ties with Biden could facilitate the process of the US engaging Washington in talks.
He reportedly asked the Pope to call both Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a truce to put an end to the conflict.
Macron gifted the Pope a 1796 edition of Immanuel Kant's "Project of Perpetual Peace," a book stolen from the Lvov library - probably during World War 2.
L'entretien entre Emmanuel Macron a pris fin, il a duré 55 minutes. Le président a offert au pape une édition de 1796 du Projet de paix perpétuelle" d'Emmanuel Kant (photo Vatican) pic.twitter.com/GcrGwbvcXF
— LB2S (@LB2S) October 24, 2022
Recent updates reveal that Macron called out the US over its "double standards" for selling gas to Europe at prices 3 to 4 times higher than it is sold in the US domestic markets.
"American gas is 3-4 times cheaper on the domestic market than the price at which they offer it to Europeans. These are double standards," Macron told reporters on October 22, adding that "it concerns sincerity in transatlantic trade" and that this issue should be addressed.
He further expressed frustration over the fact that the US was beginning to implement protectionist measures. On October 18, Macron told the French daily Les Echos, "The Americans are buying American and pursuing a very aggressive strategy of state aid. The Chinese are closing their market. We cannot be the only area, the most virtuous in terms of climate, which considers that there is no European preference."
Earlier today, it was reported that the EU voted against an EU-wide price cap on the price of gas used to produce electricity
Brussels non-paper on setting cap for price of gas used in electricity generation is a fascinating assassination of the proposals, one of the biggest barriers is the EU-UK Brexit trade deal pic.twitter.com/9iuO77SzNv
— Bruno Waterfield (@BrunoBrussels) October 25, 2022
What this implies is that France would immensely benefit in terms of cheap power.
The biggest winner will obviously be the UK considering that it will avoid the export surcharge on the cheaper European subsidized electricity.
As for Germany, the country will suffer considerable losses in terms of subsidy costs for gas-fired electricity generation.
Read more: Thousands protest against Macron in Paris amid calls for strike
