DrGermany, France and Poland are discussing long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party) met French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Paris on Monday evening. Before joint deliberations, Duda pleaded: „Ukraine is waiting for a clear signal regarding a clear possibility of joining NATO.” This is the expectation of the Ukrainian leadership and soldiers defending the country attacked by Russia. He hopes that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius will shed light on the end of the tunnel that Ukraine craves.
As in the past, Schultz was cautious. He said the main efforts at the moment were aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia. „We will continue to do this as long as necessary, and we are ready for that,” said the chancellor. However, the intense debate about security guarantees makes sense. “We will continue to do this very intensively and it will be completed when there is a joint outcome of the discussion. But one thing is clear: we need something like this, and we need it very concretely.”
Macron was also more reserved than Duda. They want to talk about „NATO support for Ukraine, to give it all the views it is entitled to.” He hopes that the upcoming NATO summit will make it possible to show a clear way and vision for the country to develop its future. collective security.
Macron is on the offensive: it could take months
At the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on July 11-12, Ukraine wants to get concrete prospects for joining the defense alliance. However, important allies are slowing down. For the supposedly long transition period, there are discussions about upgrading the existing NATO-Ukraine Committee to a new NATO-Ukraine Council. Such a joint consultative forum would be an important step towards being able to discuss key security issues with Ukraine on an equal footing.
Macron also said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive began a few days ago and is expected to continue for several months. France has recently increased and continues to supply arms and ammunition. There is this counterattack. We hope that it will be as successful as possible, in order to launch a negotiation phase under good conditions, ”Macron said. The Russian war of aggression is indeed a strategic and geopolitical failure for Russia.
The tripartite meetings between Germany, France and Poland are called the „Weimar Triangle”. The discussion format was created in August 1991 by the then Foreign Ministers Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Roland Dumas and Krzysztof Skobzewski in Weimar, Thuringia. It initially served primarily to bring Poland and other Eastern European countries closer to the European Union and NATO. Macron emphasized that the current situation in Ukraine requires continued close cooperation between the three countries and a joint search for answers. This also contributes to the unity and determination of Europe.
