French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called on European countries to back Ukraine "over the long term" and get ready in case Washington decides to stop supporting the war-torn country.
Tens of billions of dollars in US aid has been sent to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, but Republican lawmakers have grown reluctant to keep supporting Kyiv, saying it lacks a clear end game as the fighting grinds on.
"We must organise ourselves in such a way that if the United States were to make a sovereign choice to stop or reduce this aid, it should have no impact on the ground", he told reporters in Stockholm, alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
"We Europeans must continue to support the Ukrainian people," Macron said, stressing that Ukraine was a European country.
"This is first and foremost our problem," he added.
"We have a strategic objective: Russia cannot win."
The French president is set to make a new visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February.
France is working on a new bilateral security agreement with Ukraine -- along the lines of a pact agreed between Kyiv and London -- that would be announced during Macron's trip to Kyiv next month.
Earlier this month Macron urged French defence manufacturers to boost production and innovation as Europe struggles to increase arms supplies to buttress Ukraine.
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Comments (2)
Thank you President Macron for showing that leadership and commitment. Make it happen, please.
Macron is the true leader of Europe. Now the question is will the EU put its money where its mouth is, fork up the 60 billion plus in additional aid and strenghten Ukraine's economy and defense. As you said Ukraine is a european country not a north american one.