French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday told expats in Prague that it was time for Ukraine’s allies to step up, adding that a moment was approaching “in our Europe where it will be appropriate not to be a coward.” He and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also signed a strategic partnership action plan, which lays out certain common goals and denounces Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, during a visit to Prague on Tuesday, Macron said he stood by his comments and that a “strategic leap” was necessary.
In a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Macron stated that France and the Czech Republic were “well aware that war is back on our soil [in Europe], that some powers which have become unstoppable are extending their threat of attacking us even more every day, and that we will have to live up to history and the courage that it requires.”
Macron’s comments on February 26, made after he hosted a meeting of Western leaders to rally support for Ukraine, align with his reputation as a diplomatic disruptor who likes to break taboos and challenge conventional thinking.
French officials later explained that Macron’s intention was to stimulate debate and that ideas under discussion involved non-combat troops in roles such as demining, border protection, or training Ukrainian forces.
Ammunitions
Macron also stressed on Tuesday his support for plans announced last month by the Czech Republic, backed by Canada, Denmark, and others, to finance the rapid purchase of hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds from third countries to dispatch to Ukraine.
Ukraine is critically short of artillery rounds as its troops try to hold back Russian forces, who are again on the offensive in the east, two years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
Macron did not specify what France would contribute to the initiative, adding that ministers would work on that.
However, he opened the door to using European funds for it.
One of the key issues for France has been the financing of such an initiative, given its long-standing push for the European Union (EU) to use European financing only for the European defense industry and opposition to the idea of using European money to buy outside the bloc.
“We support this initiative and we are ready to contribute to it,” Macron said of the Czech plan.
Despite earlier misgivings on using EU funds to buy abroad, he said: “I think that in this context it could be done bilaterally, it could be done in cooperation with third parties, with bilateral financing or European funding, that of the European Peace Facility, which can be partly mobilized for this initiative.BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 5, 2024
Macron announces that France is joining the Czech initiative to buy 800 000 artillery shells for Ukraine across the world.
Czech President Petr Pavel recently said that the shells could be delivered to Ukraine within a few weeks.
🇫🇷🇨🇿🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/BPxybPNUEe
The Netherlands announced last month it would contribute EUR 100 million to the Czech initiative.
Strategic partnership action plan
French President Emmanuel Macron and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also signed a strategic partnership action plan on Tuesday. This document, valid until 2028, primarily focuses on matters such as the EU and foreign policy, security and defense, migration, trade, social affairs, science, and culture.
The action plan explicitly denounces Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as illegal and unprovoked armed aggression.I was very pleased to welcome President of France @EmmanuelMacron at @strakovka today.
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) March 5, 2024
Czech-French relations are at an excellent level. We agreed on developing cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, which is important for achieving climate goals and strengthening energy… pic.twitter.com/03xJoesEE0
Within the document, both states affirm their enduring amicable relations founded on shared values and mutual foreign policy interests.
