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Macron ahead in first round of presidential election

Macron cast his vote in Le Touquet, a seaside town in Pas-de-Calais in northern France and urged voters to exercise their franchise. But he failed to sufficiently enthuse them…reports Asian Lite News

Notwithstanding a slightly low voter turnout, an opening estimate of the result of the first round of the French presidential election by pollsters Ipsos, gave the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron 28.1 per cent of votes, with Marie Le Pen of the far-right National Rally, better known as National Front, securing 23.3 per cent support.

The two now go through to a decisive second round of voting on April 24 for a re-match. Supporters of the finalists were planning parties in celebration of qualifying into the ultimate stage, which were predicted to continue late into the night.

Among the 12 candidates altogether, leftist JeanLuc Melenchon registered an impressive 20.1 per cent – which is likely to mostly transfer in favour of Macron in the second round. Eric Zemmour, an extreme rightist, posted 7.2 per cent – much of this will probably go to Le Pen in the second round. Valerie Pecresse of the traditional right-of-centre Republicans got only 7.2 per cent – she requested her voters to back Macron in the second round. Socialist Anne Hidalgo fared even worse with 2.1 per cent.

Macron cast his vote in Le Touquet, a seaside town in Pas-de-Calais in northern France and urged voters to exercise their franchise. But he failed to sufficiently enthuse them.

Turnout was down as compared to polling in the first round in 2017, but still around 75 per cent. French voters have not stayed away from casting their ballot in this manner, other than their apathy of 2002.

The low turnout is interpreted by commentators as a reflection of defiance and dissatisfaction among French people in the politics of the country, looked upon as a worrying trend.

Le Monde, the leading French daily, commented in an editorial piece: “Started in times of pandemic (Covid-19) and completed in times of war (in Ukraine), this presidential campaign suspended between two perils leads to a first round threatened by a double danger” – abstention and the rise in support for the far-right.

Reporting on Paris, the paper wrote: “Many voters hesitated a lot before deciding, sometimes even in front of the voting booth.”

In what was described as “the chic districts of Marseille” – a port city, founded in 600 BC and France’s oldest urban centre in the south-west of the country – some leaders of the Republicans reportedly led the way to vote for Macron of En Marche, a centrist formation established in 2016. “A conversion with a bitter taste for some voters,” Le Monde’s correspondent said.

In sandy Reunion Island, a French prefecture in the Indian Ocean, where 25 per cent of its 900,000 odd population are of Indian origin, the percentage of polling was also down from five years ago. Standing in bright sunshine, one local resident was quoted as saying: “Life is more pleasant here (on the beach) than in a voting booth!” Behind her the waters were an exotic turquoise blue.

In 2017, Macron won 24 per cent of the votes to Le Pen’s 21.3 per cent in the first round. But he went on to capture 66.1 per cent in the second ballot to Le Pen’s 33.9 per cent to be victorious quite comfortably. He is expecting this will be repeated two weeks from now to clinch for him a re-election.

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Macron faces tough fight as France votes

Macron

For the Indian government, Macron is a familiar figure, while Le Pen is an unknown entity, but whose rhetoric against non-whites over the years has not been particularly friendly…writes Ashis Ray

 With less than 24 hours to go before balloting begins in the first round of the French presidential election on 10 April, incumbent Emmanuel Macron, seeking a second term, was scrambling to unite voters against the challenge he is facing from the far-right.

The threat to Macron has arisen from Marine Le Pen of the National Front narrowing the gap between them in opinion polls. The former has thus been frantically endeavouring to resurrect the republican front. The process will inevitably go to a second round of voting on April 24 to decide the winner. In his only electoral rally in the campaign on April 2, Macron appealed to “all those, from social democracy to Gaullism, including the ecologists, who have not yet joined us, to do so”, the Le Monde newspaper reported.

An opinion poll published by BFM TV on Thursday, quoted by Reuters, gave Macron 26 per cent support to Le Pen’s 25 per cent in the first round in which there are 12 contestants altogether. The top two out of the dozen will proceed to a direct face-off in a second round of voting on April 24. It’s Macron’s hope and expectation that most of the other votes will transfer to him in the decisive phase.

On Friday, the President, no-holds-barred, said: “She (Le Pen) lies to the people.”

He added the far-right was about “rejection of the (French) Republic”, “anti-Semitism” and “xenophobia”. Earlier he had warned against taking Le Pen’s extremism lightly. “I hear that she is far right less often. 20 years ago, the media would say ‘it’s terrible’.”

French president Emmanuel Macron

Five years ago, Macron, a pro-European Union centrist, quite remarkably created a winning movement and political party En Marche within months to triumphantly occupy the Elysee Palace. He, though, refused to engage in public debates with the other candidates this time. In this vacuum, Le Pen emerged as apparently his main opponent. Now, that the President’s camp perceives one should not take matters for granted, they have launched a last minute offensive. Le Monde commented, “some in the majority see this strategy of rediabolisation as a tired attempt to reactivate the ‘old Pavlovian responses’ against the far right.

The other candidates in the election include Eric Zemmour, a former journalist, TV commentator and best-selling author with hard anti-Islam and anti-immigration views, Valerie Pecresse of the right-of-centre Republicans, known as Gaullists after its founder Charles de Gaulle, and Anne Hidalgo, a former mayor of Paris, of the Socialist Party, which is a shadow of its erstwhile self.

Zemmour has sounded so extreme in his stance in course of electioneering, that this has made Le Pen look a moderate, thereby persuading a section of the traditional right to veer towards her. Her poll numbers suggest the biggest support ever in France nationally for a far right nominee.

For the Indian government, Macron is a familiar figure, while Le Pen is an unknown entity, but whose rhetoric against non-whites over the years has not been particularly friendly. The sitting President also represents continuity. He was a minister in the socialist President Francoise Hollande’s government, which was awarded the lucrative Rafale multi-role combat aircraft contract by Narendra Modi in 2015. With this deal now being scrutinised by a Parisian prosecutor, Macron has a stake in fighting any averse findings, which Le Pen would not.

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Humanitarian issues on focus in Putin-Macron call

Russia and Ukraine concluded their latest round of face-to-face peace talks in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul Tuesday…reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation to continue discussions of the situation in Ukraine, shortly after a new round of Moscow-Kiev peace talks ended in Istanbul, Turkey.

Putin and Macron paid particular attention to humanitarian issues in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Kremlin statement.

Putin informed Macron of measures being taken by the Russian military to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and ensure the safe evacuation of civilians, including from the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

Putin stressed that in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation in Mariupol, “Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resistance and lay down their arms,” the statement said.

The presidents also touched upon Russia’s decision to shift to payments in rubles for its natural gas supplied to “unfriendly” countries and regions, particularly to the European Union, according to the statement.

Russia and Ukraine concluded their latest round of face-to-face peace talks in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul Tuesday.

 Belgium expels 21 Russian diplomats

Belgium will expel 21 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage and involvement in influence operations threatening Belgian security, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmes has announced.

The diplomats, from the Russian Embassy in Brussels and the Consulate General in Antwerp, will have to leave the territory within 15 days, Xinhua news agency reported.

The decision was announced during the current affairs debate in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Russian Ambassador to Belgium was informed by the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, said the minister.

“This decision does not constitute a sanction or a punitive measure. It is only linked to our national security,” she said. “Diplomatic channels remain open … and we will of course continue to advocate dialogue.”

Meanwhile, while commenting on statements by representatives of Western countries that they will not pay for deliveries in rubles, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not intend to engage in charity and export gas to Europe for free,.

Peskov also stressed that Moscow was not the initiator of such a development of the situation, since it was the Western states that unleashed an economic war against Russia, RT News reported.

Western countries unleashed an economic war against Russia, he added.

“Western European countries, the US, Canada, Australia are actually waging a war against us in trade and the economy,” Peskov was quoted by TASS in an interview with PBS.

According to him, Western countries seized Russian property, seize money, block financial relations. He noted that Russia has to adapt to the new reality.

Russia does not intend to supply Europe with gas for free, Peskov said on the air of the American television company PBS.

“No payment – no gas,” TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

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Biden, Macron vow to hold Russia accountable for Ukraine war

The two leaders’ conversation came hours after a military training base in the western city of Yavoriv was struck by a barrage of Russian cruise missiles….reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have reaffirmed their commitment to hold Russia accountable for its war on Ukraine, according to the White House.

The two leaders made the commitment during a phone call on Sunday during which they discussed the current situation in Ukraine as Russian forces engaged in continued bombing and shelling of major cities.

In a statement, the White House said Biden and Macron also “reviewed recent diplomatic engagements and underscored their commitment to hold Russia accountable for its actions and to support the government and people of Ukraine”.

The two leaders’ conversation came hours after a military training base in the western city of Yavoriv was struck by a barrage of Russian cruise missiles.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call to NATO leaders to establish a no-fly zone over his country, warning that it was only a matter of time that Russian missiles would also fall on the alliance’s territories.

The President’s call on Sunday night came after 30 missiles struck Lviv earlier in the day, while the shelling of the International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security located near the Ukraine-Poland border killed 35 people and injured 134 others.

Referring to the shelling of the Centre, Zelensky said that “nothing was happening there that could threaten the territory of the Russian Federation. The NATO border is only 20 kilometres away”, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

“Last year, I clearly warned NATO leaders that if there were no harsh preventive sanctions against the Russian Federation, it would go to war. We were right.

“Now I am repeating again: if you do not cover us with a no-fly zone, it is only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on your territory, on NATO territory, on the homes of NATO states’ citizens,” the President added.

A no-fly zone refers to any region of airspace where it has been established that certain aircraft cannot fly.

It can be used to protect sensitive areas, such as royal residences, or brought in temporarily over sporting events and large gatherings.

The US has ruled out a no-fly zone over Ukraine because it could mean NATO forces shooting down Russian aircraft to clear the skies, the BBC reported.

US President Joe Biden said do so would lead to an escalation, which he described as “World War Three”.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has also confirmed that his country would not help enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine because fighting Russian jets would trigger a “war across Europe”.

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Worst is yet to come in Ukraine, says Macron

Second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine over the crisis in Ukraine began in Belarus on Thursday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus…reports Asian Lite News

French President Emmanuel Macron believes that “the worst is yet to come” in Ukraine after a telephonic conversation with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday, said an aide to the French leader.

Putin held a 90-minute talk with Macron and according to the aide it appeared he (Putin) is intent on seizing “the whole” of the country, reported the Moscow Times.

Second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine over the crisis in Ukraine began in Belarus on Thursday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Taking to Twitter, Belarus MFA said, “Second round of Russia-Ukraine talks kicks off in Belarus.” According to Sputnik, the Ukrainian delegation flew to the meeting point from Poland by helicopter.

Ministry of External Affairs issued an advisory for Indian nationals in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, stating that a potentially dangerous situation can be expected. Indian Embassy in Kyiv, in a tweet, urged that all Indian nationals who are in Kharkiv excluding Pesochin should urgently fill up their details in the form which embassy shared on its Twitter handle.

Ukraine, capital city Kyiv on Thursday woke up with an air raid alert. The residents were advised to take shelter in safe houses. Ukraine claimed to have destroyed columns of Russian troops with heavy artillery, inflicting heavy damage.

A large Russian military convoy stretching over 30 km, advancing on Kyiv, was delayed due to staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion, said the latest UK defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.

Russian forces struck at residential buildings in central Chernihiv city of Ukraine on Thursday (local time), according to The Kyiv independent, a Ukraine media outlet.

UNESCO demanded that the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine. Polish nationals said that Poland strongly stands with Ukraine in this time of conflict and they are putting up three flags: Of the European Union, their country Poland, and Ukraine.

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Boris welcomes Putin’s commitment to Macron  

Putin and Macron discussed the need to step up the search for diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine in a phone call on Sunday, reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitments to French President Emmanuel Macron were a welcome sign that the Kremlin chief may be still willing to engage in a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

Johnson spoke to Macron after Macron held a call with Putin.

“The Prime Minister noted that President Putin’s commitments to President Macron were a welcome sign that he might still be willing to engage in finding a diplomatic solution,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“The Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine’s voice must be central in any discussions,” the spokesperson said.

Putin and Macron discussed the need to step up the search for diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine in a phone call on Sunday, the Kremlin said.

Meanwhile, multiple explosions were heard on Sunday in the centre of the separatist-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said.

A loudspeaker in the area asked citizens to exercise caution. The origin of the explosions was not clear.

Western allies can’t keep offering an olive branch while Russia continues to dial up tensions along the Ukrainian border, European Council President Charles Michel said Sunday.

“The big question remains: does the Kremlin want dialogue?” Michel asked at the Munich Security Conference.

“We cannot forever offer an olive branch while Russia conducts missile tests and continues to amass troops,” he added.

A Russian invasion of Ukraine now seems “far more likely than unlikely” and all the signs suggest it is “very, very imminent”, Britain’s minister for Europe said on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, at the moment, an attack, an invasion seems far more likely than unlikely but we will continue to work to try and avert that,” James Cleverly told Sky News.

“Everything that we see indicates that invasion is very, very, highly likely and very, very imminent.”

UK embassy temporarily relocated

In view of the ongoing buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border followed by the threat of Russian invasion on the country, the British embassy in Kyiv has been relocated to Western Ukraine’s Lviv while the government has urged British nationals in Ukraine to leave the country till the commercial flights are still available.

A statement issued by UK’s Foreign Office said, “Since January 2022, the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s borders has increased the threat of military action. The British Embassy office in Kyiv is temporarily relocating. Embassy staff are operating from the British Embassy office in Lviv.”

Citing that any Russian military actions in Ukraine will affect the British government’s ability to provide consular assistance in Ukraine, the Ministry said that the British nationals should not expect increased consumer support and help in regard to the evacuation in the circumstances. Further addressing those who wish to remain in Ukraine, the ministry asked them to remain vigilant throughout their stay due to potential combat operations in the coming days while public demonstrations are presently being carried out across the country.

Notably, the US government had earlier also announced moving their embassy to Lviv in view of the ongoing conflict. In the statement issued by the White House, it said that the embassy will continue to engage with the Ukrainian government while it remains in the process of temporarily relocating its embassy operations in Ukraine from Kyiv to Lviv.

Meanwhile, Johnson who will be attending the Munich Security Summit is likely to make an appeal to the Western leaders for coming together in solidarity in face of the Russian aggression resulting in a devastating conflict in Ukraine.

This came in the backdrop of the ongoing events in Ukraine which have gained momentum after the Russia-backed separatists have announced their plan to evacuate around 7 lakh people to Russia from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Following this. speculations have also been raised regarding a possible invasion by Russian powers on Ukraine amid repetitive warnings from Western allies.

PM’s warning

Russia is preparing to plunge Europe into its worst conflict since World War II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, warning that any invasion of Ukraine would freeze Moscow out of global finance.

“The fact is that all the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun,” he said in a BBC interview broadcast Sunday from the Munich Security Conference, after two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in attacks around rebel-held enclaves.

Russian invasion plans would see its troops not just enter Ukraine from the rebel-held east, but from Belarus to the north and encircle the capital Kyiv, Johnson said, citing US intelligence relayed to Western leaders by President Joe Biden.

“People need to understand the sheer cost in human life that could entail,” he said, after previously indicating that the West would continue to support any Ukraine resistance after an invasion.

“I’m afraid to say that the plan we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in Europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale.”

In a speech Saturday to the conference in Germany, Johnson warned that Western sanctions in response to any invasion would make it “impossible” for President Vladimir Putin’s regime to access the City of London’s deep capital markets.

He indicated a global reach for the sanctions also involving US measures, telling the BBC that they would stop Russian companies “trading in pounds and dollars” — which he said would hit Russia “very, very hard”.

The UK government has long been accused of turning a blind eye to lucrative flows of Russian-sourced money through London, some of which has ended up in Conservative coffers, although Johnson’s party says all its donations are legal.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported a list of elite party donors which it said had privileged access to Johnson’s government, including Lubov Chernukhin, who is married to Putin’s former deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin.

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Biden dials Macron, discusses Ukraine crisis

It came as the US Defence Department announced on Wednesday the extra US forces will deploy to Poland, Germany and Romania in the next several days…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (local time) spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Russia’s continued military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.

“The two leaders affirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reviewed our ongoing coordination on both diplomacy and preparations to impose swift and severe economic costs on Russia should it further invade Ukraine,” said the White House in a press release.

“President Biden and President Macron agreed their teams will stay in close touch, including in consultation with NATO Allies and EU partners, on our coordinated and comprehensive approach to managing these issues,” the release added.

It came as the US Defence Department announced on Wednesday the extra US forces will deploy to Poland, Germany and Romania in the next several days.

French President Emmanuel Macron

The Defence Department is sending 2,000 US troops to Europe in the next several days in response to the Ukraine crisis, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

Most of the 2,000 troops will be deployed in Poland and the deployment will be temporal, he said.

President Biden has said that his decision to deploy several thousand more troops to Europe over the Ukraine crisis is “totally consistent” with that he has told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“As long as he’s acting aggressively, we are going to make sure we reassure our NATO allies in Eastern Europe that we’re there and Article 5 is a sacred obligation,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (local time) warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against the invasion of Ukraine and said it would be a “tragic miscalculation.”

Johnson issued the warning during a phone call with Putin. He told the Russian President that he is deeply concerned about the 100,000 soldiers massed at Ukraine’s border, reported NHK World.

British officials released a statement saying the leaders agreed that aggravation was in no one’s interest.

Johnson also stressed that Ukraine had every right to apply to join the “defensive alliance” of NATO if it wished and that Kyiv should be included in any talks over the standoff with Russia.

He visited Kyiv on Tuesday, warning after talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russian forces massed on the border represented a “clear and present danger” to Ukraine, reported Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Russian officials released their own statement, saying NATO’s response to their concerns has been inadequate.

Putin has been calling for NATO troops to withdraw from eastern Europe and wants guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join the bloc, reported NHK World.

Putin said members of the alliance are hiding behind their open-door policy. He said that contradicts their own commitments to shared security. (ANI)

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Macron presents French EU Council Presidency’s priorities to EP

French President Emmanuel Macron

Addressing the European Parliament’s (EP) plenary session in Strasbourg, France, French President Emmanuel Macron outlined the priorities of his country’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU)…reports Asian Lite News

The EU, Macron said, has the capability and resources to be a powerful actor in the international community, Xinhua news agency reported.

At the helm of the EU Council, France intends to “create together a European power of the future … an independent Europe that has given itself the means to decide its own future and not rely on the decisions of other major powers,” he said.

The French EU Council Presidency will promote and protect the values “that are being weakened,” he said, naming democracy, solidarity and respect for the rule of law.

Macron also said that the EU should add to its Charter of Fundamental Rights the protection of the environment and women’s right to abortion.

Emmanuel Macron

Macron said he wished to see the rule of law reinforced “in dialogue” in order to “convince people again who have drifted away from it.”

He said that the French Presidency would deliver on solidarity, with new texts being presented or adopted in the coming weeks on topics such as employment, gender gap in pay or the fight against discrimination.

To make sure that progress benefits all EU citizens, the bloc must face the challenges posed by climate change and the digital transition, he said.

France will push for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and mirror measures in commercial agreements, he said. A “One Ocean” summit will be held in February to strengthen the protection of marine biodiversity, Macron recalled.

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France also wants to preserve peace through a better migration policy and better neighborly relations. Relationships with Africa, the Western Balkan countries, and Russia will be at the heart of the French presidency.

“We will continue to seek a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine,” he said, and “will ensure that Europe makes its united and strong voice heard on the question of strategic armaments.” He called for a “European proposal building a new order of security and stability.”

He also said that the EU must find a “path of trust” with the United Kingdom in a post-Brexit era.

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Putin briefs Boris about Ukrainian situation

PM expressed concern over the alleged large-scale movement of Russian troops along the Ukrainian borders, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday, reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin informed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his assessments of the current situation in Ukraine during a phone call.

Johnson expressed concern over the alleged large-scale movement of Russian troops along the Ukrainian borders, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.

Putin gave Johnson specific examples of how authorities in Kiev undermined the implementation of the Minsk agreements, “which are an uncontested basis for resolving the internal crisis in Ukraine.”

The Russian President also pointed to the “discrimination against the Russian-speaking population” in Ukraine.

He underlined the need to immediately begin negotiations on clear and internationally legal agreements against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s further eastward expansion and against the deployment of weapons in Russia’s neighbours, primarily Ukraine.

The Russian side will present draft documents on this issue, Putin added.

“It was underlined that all this is happening against the background of active military ‘expansion’ on the territory of Ukraine by NATO countries creating a direct threat to the security of Russia,” the Kremlin said.

US intelligence assesses that Russia could be planning a multifront offensive on neighbouring Ukraine as early as next year, involving up to 175,000 soldiers.

The Kremlin denies it plans to invade and says the West is gripped by Russophobia. Moscow says the expansion of NATO threatens Russia and has contravened assurances given to it as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

On its part, Downing Street said Johnson told Putin of his “deep concern” at the Russian troop build-up on Ukraine’s border.

He “reiterated the importance of working through diplomatic channels to de-escalate tensions and identify durable solutions”, the British government statement said.

“The prime minister emphasised the UK’s commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences.”

Johnson’s intervention comes after a two-day meeting of the G7 in which the grouping’s top diplomats warned Moscow of “massive consequences” if it invades the former Soviet state.

Also on Monday, European foreign ministers slapped sanctions on Russia’s private military company Wagner, blacklisting eight individuals and three companies associated with the group that is believed to be serving the Kremlin’s efforts to “destabilise” Ukraine, Syria, Libya and several African countries.

Next, the EU ministers signalled their readiness to impose huge new measures targeting Russia’s economy if Russia goes ahead with direct military action.

“Allow me to say, once again, firmly that the European Union is standing united in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Zelensky, Macron hold talks

Meanwhile, on Monday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to discuss his country’s security situation.

During the talks, the two leaders discussed the ways to unlock the negotiation process in the Normandy format, designed to end the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas through diplomatic means.

Zelensky said that Kiev stands ready to continue active work within the Normandy Four, which comprises Ukraine, France, Russia and Germany.

Zelensky and Macron stressed the need to resume the effective functioning of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) to achieve an effective ceasefire, the release of hostages and the opening of the checkpoints in Donbas.

The TCG, consisting of representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was formed to facilitate a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Donbas.

On Thursday, Zelensky held a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss the security situation around Ukraine and the prospects for intensifying the peaceful settlement in Donbas.

It is reported that Zelensky will meet Macron on December 15 in Brussels.

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Macron accuses Morrison of lying about submarine deal

French President Emmanuel Macron

The deal was announced then by the United States, United Kingdom and Australia on the launch of the trilateral security pact “AUKUS”…reports Asian Lite News.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison lied to him over a cancelled submarine deal.
“I have a lot of respect for your country. I have a lot of respect and a lot of friendship for your people. I just say when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in line and consistently with this value,” Macron told a group of Australian reporters who had travelled to cover the G20, CNN reported.
Asked if he thought Morrison had lied to him, Macron replied “I don’t think, I know.”
Both leaders are attending the G20 in Rome and a major climate summit in Glasgow.

In September, Canberra announced that it was scrapping a multi-billion purchase of French conventional submarines in favour of nuclear subs built with US technology.
The deal was announced then by the United States, United Kingdom and Australia on the launch of the trilateral security pact “AUKUS”.

“This exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Le Drian’s indignation reflected the fact that France had its own deal with Australia, concluded in 2016, for conventional, less technologically sophisticated submarines. That USD 66 billion deal is now defunct, but a harsh legal battle over the contract appears inevitable.
The French official slammed “unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners, the consequences of which affect the very conception that we have of our alliances, our partnerships and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe,” reported euronews.
Although none of the three governments made any mention of China, the new partnership is widely understood to be an attempt to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, Euronews reported.
Furious France has also recalled ambassadors from the US and Australia amid submarine deal outrage.
The deal plans for deeper diplomatic, security, and defence cooperation between the three capitals with enhanced capabilities and interoperability in cyber, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden said in a statement that their partnership is “guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order.” (ANI)

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