Paris (TDI): French President Emmanuel Macron was set on Wednesday to host a new meeting on Ukraine in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he termed an “existential threat” from Russia amid a shock policy shift in Washington.
US president Donald Trump has stunned the European Union (EU) by indicating he is ready to resume diplomacy with President Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia’s war against Ukraine and discuss the fate of the pro-Western nation over the heads of not only Europe but also Kyiv.
On Monday, Macron convened key European leaders as well as NATO and EU chiefs for emergency discussions to agree a coordinated response to Washington’s shock policy shift on Russia.
Several smaller European nations including Romania and the Czech Republic were reportedly aghast at not being invited despite being strong backers of Ukraine, so the French president said he would convene a new meeting Wednesday.
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In an interview with French regional newspapers on Tuesday, Macron said he planned to meet “with several European and non-European countries.”
The discussions were set to take place Wednesday afternoon, with most participants taking part by video link, according to the Elysee.
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Macron said that Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans.
France has been one of Ukraine’s main Western supporters since Moscow unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
