Czech President Petr Pavel receives France’s Head of State Emmanuel Macron in Prague on March 5, 2024.
Image: Reuters
Europe should not be cowardly, says the French President in Prague. Federal Defense Minister Pistorius finds Macron’s words “not helpful”. However, the Élysée Palace says Berlin was not meant.
DDuring a visit to Prague, French President Emmanuel Macron called for people not to “cowardly” close their minds to the challenges of the war in Ukraine. In a speech at the French embassy on Tuesday, he first spoke of the Iron Curtain and “the cowardice” of one part of Europe in “as it were” leaving the fate of the other part to totalitarianism. The war has now returned to European soil. “We are certainly facing a moment in our Europe when it will be important not to be cowardly,” he said.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) interpreted this as a reference to the federal government and described Macron’s words as unhelpful. “This doesn’t really help solve the problems we have in supporting Ukraine as best we can,” Pistorius said in Stockholm. “In my view, we don’t need discussions regarding the use of ground troops or regarding more or less courage,” said Pistorius.
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