French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine should be able to “neutralize” military bases from which Russia launches missiles into Ukrainian territory.
The French head of state announced this at a press conference that he held on Tuesday in Germany together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Ukraine's strikes on the Russian Federation
He emphasized that Ukraine is actually being attacked from bases in Russia.
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— We must allow them (Ukraine, — Ed.) to neutralize military facilities from which missiles are launched…, military facilities from which Ukraine is attacked , — he stated.
At the same time, he warned that in order to avoid what he called “escalation”, the Ukrainian government should not be allowed to hit other targets on Russian territory.
— We don't want escalation… What has changed is that Russia has adapted its actions somewhat, — he said, referring to Russian attacks on Ukraine from bases on Russian territory.
Macron added that if Europe gives a signal to Ukraine that it should not approach the point from which missiles are launched, then in fact the supply of European weapons will be carried out, but the Ukrainians will not have the opportunity to defend themselves.
— But we must not allow them to hit other targets in Russia, and obviously civilian targets, — he added.
Scholz changed position
In turn, Scholz said that, as a party suffering from Russian aggression, Ukraine has the right to defend itself and that it has “every opportunity under international law for what it is doing& ;#8221;.
— I find it strange that there is talk of her not being allowed to defend herself and take action that serves that purpose — he told reporters, adding that Kyiv agreed to comply with international law when disposing of the weapons supplied to it.
At the same time, the German Chancellor previously spoke out against attacks by Western weapons on Russian territory.
The German leader agreed with Macron that Europe will have to contribute more to burden-sharing in the transatlantic relationship with the United States.
— We will therefore further expand our Franco-German cooperation in the fields of security, defense and arms — in particular, in the development of precision deep impact weapons, — said Scholz.
Emmanuel Macron also recalled that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will make another visit to Paris next week, coinciding with the celebration of the Allied landings in Normandy in World War II.
