Europe is getting ready for a clash with Russia. Macron wants long-range attack systems

Europe will have to deal with an aggressive Russia even after the end of the war in Ukraine, so it should develop, among other things, long-range precision attack systems, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday at the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

Macron said that if Europeans want to talk to Russia from a “position of strength” in the future, they must “actively develop” their own “toolkit”, including “precision attack” systems against distant targets.

The president emphasized that after concluding a peace agreement regarding Ukraine, Europe will have to “define the rules of coexistence” with Russia to “limit the risk of escalation.”

“Europeans must start this work guided by their own thoughts and their own interests,” he said, proposing “a series of consultations on this important topic.”

He stressed that the way to end the war is not to give in to Russian demands, but to increase pressure on Russia. – This is the right time to be bold. This is the right moment for a strong Europe, he said.

Macron expressed his belief that Europe must become a geopolitical power and that the European security architecture must be rebuilt, because the current one was created during the Cold War and no longer corresponds to realities.

– We must once again take into account nuclear deterrence in this concept, he stressed. In this context, he said that France had started a strategic dialogue with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other leaders so that France's nuclear deterrence potential could be translated throughout Europe.

Before his speech at the MSC, the French president noted in a conversation with journalists that there is “a lot of uncertainty” in transatlantic relations. “We need to define what we want for ourselves and what we should do. And the United States should clarify what it is ready to do for Europeans,” he said. (PAP)

mw/ap/