French President Macron is calling for a “new security order” in Europe with a view to Russia

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French President Emmanuel Macron during his speech in Strasbourg

Photo: JULIEN WARNAND / EPA

Russia is massing troops near the Ukrainian border, and the West has so far lacked a strong, cohesive response.

In view of the impending escalation, French President Emmanuel Macron has now called for a new European security and stability order.

"Europe must build a common security order on our continent," said Macron in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

"The security of our continent requires strategic rearmament as a power of peace and balance." This includes in particular the dialogue with Russia.

A proposal for this must be drawn up by the Europeans in the coming weeks and then shared with the NATO partners.

The proposal must then be submitted to Russia for negotiations, Macron said.

Because of the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine, the West fears that Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring country.

The government in Moscow denies plans to attack and demands, among other things, that NATO should not expand further eastwards.

Russia recently moved more tanks to Belarus, the country borders Ukraine in the north.

»Defending the principles and rights of the sovereignty of states«

The dialogue with Russia remains essential, said Macron.

"We will continue to seek a political solution to the Ukraine conflict with Germany as part of the Normandy format," emphasized Macron.

The inviolability of the borders, the free choice of alliances, the renunciation of violence - these are all principles that Europe and Russia agreed on many years ago.

"It is up to us Europeans to defend these principles and inherent rights of states' sovereignty," Macron said.

Macron reiterated that France, together with Germany, is ready to negotiate with Russia and Ukraine in the so-called Normandy format.

On Thursday, France, Germany and the USA want to discuss their further course of action together in Berlin.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is currently in Kiev for talks before traveling on to Berlin.

Previous diplomatic initiatives to defuse the crisis have so far had little success.

During a visit by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Moscow, it became clear how far apart the positions are.

In the meantime, there are first voices in the federal government to consider supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine.

mrc/dpa/AFP