We must accelerate military support for Kiev, this is what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hammered at the opening of the Munich Security Conference which began this Friday, February 17 for three days. More than 150 government representatives meet, like every year, on the spot, but this time, Russia was not invited. This Friday, several European leaders have already spoken, on Ukraine among others. What is your assessment of this first day?
” The results of a confirmation of a solidarity commitment of the allies with Mr. Zelensky and therefore with the Ukrainian people, that is very clear, analyzes General Jean-Paul Paloméros, former Chief of Staff of the French Air Force and former NATO Commander, at the microphone of Christopher Paget of RFI’s international service. The Americans had done it too, Chancellor Scholz confirmed it. He confirmed the effort of the Germans, he even asked the countries which have leopard tanks to speed up delivery to Ukrainians. It does indeed seem that certain countries, a priori they are not the major countries, but all the same, play a little below what is asked of them, of what they had planned, and they send tanks, but not necessarily the latest standards, the best standards. Chancellor Scholz insisted on this. »
And the general insisted on Germany’s role: But there is also a desire on his part to show that Germany has gone back on the frequency, in a way, in general in terms of defense investments, and then for the support of Ukraine. Of that, there is no doubt. Like Scholz, President Macron has indicated that all of this will settle over time. This is an extremely important point for Zelensky, to reinforce the idea that his allies are there, and that they will continue to be in the future. »
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The importance of European sovereignty for the French president
French President Emmanuel Macron also announced a “conference on the air defense of Europe” in Paris, bringing together Germany, Italy and Great Britain in particular.
” Everything that is happening in Ukraine shows that it is absolutely necessary to control the airspace, it is necessary to control its sovereignty, notes Jean-Paul Palomeros. There is also, of course, the affair of the Chinese balloons, which disrupts the landscape a little more. What I noticed in President Macron’s speech, and this is normal given his place, is that he insisted a lot on the European defense industry. He left a good part of his speech to that, he was the only one who attacked the problem from this angle by saying: yes, but basically, we have to be sovereign in our industry, and we are going to take initiatives. He talked about the Versailles agenda, he talked about things like that, saying: of course, we have to be compatible, interoperable with the allies, but we have to produce our own system. And that was kind of the message he sent to Scholz, who is still in the process of buying American F35 planes and Patriot missiles. »
► To read also: Macron calls on Europeans to “reinvest massively” in their defense