French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will hold a meeting of European military leaders in Paris next week, amidst mounting tension with the United States on defence and trade tariffs.
In a speech televised nationwide on Wednesday, local time, Macron took firm stances on nuclear protection, the Ukraine-Russia war and the U.S, stating “we are now in a new era.”
"The Russian threat is here and is affecting European countries, affecting us," Macron said.
"I want to believe that the U.S. will stay by our side, but we have to be ready if they don't."
He also strongly backed peace, but said it could not come at the expense of “abandoning Ukraine”.
This follows several weeks of tense attempted peace talks between the Ukraine and the Trump administration as well as the U.S. and Russia, to which Ukraine was not invited to attend.
Macron also noted that Russia had previously backtracked on a ceasefire arrangement that had been negotiated, saying this was proof "we can no longer believe the words" of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
With a focus on Europe protecting itself looking forward, the French president also confirmed that he would be hosting a meeting of military leaders from the continent next week in Paris, and that he was open to discussing extending France's nuclear protection to other European nations.
