Macron: We will have to define the rules of coexistence with Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke at a session titled "France in the World and Europe," held as part of the Munich Security Conference.

Macron began his speech by stating that Europe has recently been maligned as an old, slow, and fragmented structure pushed to the edge of history, but that he wanted to paint a different picture of Europe today.

The French leader said, "Europe is a political structure of radical originality, built by free and sovereign states that came together after centuries of competition and wars to establish mutual economic interdependence, thereby institutionalizing peace. Do not listen for even a moment to those who say this is an old-fashioned structure. This is what we need. This is what we must defend."

"Ukraine is an existential challenge for Europe"

Stating that he wanted to talk about Ukraine today, rather than the Middle East or Iran, Macron said, "I want to focus on an existential challenge in particular. Ukraine is an existential challenge for Europe. It concerns the situation of Ukraine today, tomorrow, and the day after, and the security of Europe. Ukraine is clearly the first challenge we are facing."

Emphasizing that Europe is by far the largest donor to Ukraine and has now become almost the sole target for Ukraine's military financing, Macron said, "We have implemented 20 packages of sanctions against Russia and completely reorganized our economic model to reduce our dependence on Russia. And we did this very quickly. In February 2022, no one believed we could do this."

"One should not bow to Russia's demands"

Stating that they support the US's efforts for peace and want to believe that peace is near, Macron said, "While negotiations continue, Russia continues to strike civilians and energy facilities to force Ukrainians to surrender. The answer to this should not be to bow to Russia's demands, but to increase the pressure on Russia."

He said Russia has suffered a strategic failure

Macron said, "If you look at the last four years, you see that Russia has weakened after invading Ukraine. They spent disproportionate amounts on a senseless war and are now in a recession. They have become economically isolated and completely dependent on China."

Stating that while Russia was trying to prevent NATO's expansion, it triggered two new countries to join NATO, Macron pointed out that while Russia hoped to weaken Europe, Europe is now rapidly arming itself. The French President said, "A country that already had a serious demographic problem has lost hundreds of thousands of its young people for an illusion. This is a strategic, economic, and even military failure."

"We have to define the rules of coexistence with Russia"

Expressing that they will have to live with Russia after peace is established in Ukraine, Macron said, "After peace is achieved, we will continue to have to live side by side with an aggressive Russia that has a booming defense industry and an inflated army. After a future ceasefire is achieved, we will have to define the rules of coexistence with Russia."

Macron asked, "Will we accept the deployment of long-range missiles near our borders? Will we accept Russia's interference in our immediate neighborhood? How will arms control work in the age of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)?"

The French leader said that Europe must be active in the process of negotiating a new security architecture for the future of Ukraine. Macron said, "Because our geography will not change. Russia will remain in the same place, and we Europeans will continue to live in the same place."

"Europe must learn to be a geopolitical power"

Macron stated, "Europe must learn to be a geopolitical power. This was not in our DNA. We designed ourselves as a political structure that establishes peace. And we succeeded in this. Then we created a single market to provide growth and prosperity. We succeeded in that too. Now, we need to reform ourselves in the new order. When I talk about Europe being a power, I am not talking about France or Germany. I mean Europe. Therefore, we must think as Europeans and act as Europeans."