France warns against demilitarizing Ukraine - Army key to safety
Photo: French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad (commission.europa.eu)
France opposes the demilitarization of Ukraine, as demanded by Russia. Paris believes that the best guarantee of security is strengthening the army, states French Minister for European Affairsn Benjamin Haddad in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche.
Haddad emphasized that any peace agreement must be accompanied by clear security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression.
"This is the work we are carrying out with our British partners and the Coalition of the Willing. Above all, it will require a strong Ukrainian army, so any desire to ‘demilitarize’ Ukraine is unacceptable," the minister said.
He stated that France is ready to play an active role in supporting security guarantees for Ukraine.
"Donald Trump also noted that he supports the idea of participating in these security guarantees; this is a positive step forward," Haddad added.
Putin's demands
It should be recalled that at the Istanbul talks, the Russian delegation demanded that Ukraine adopt a neutral status, abandon its course toward NATO membership, effectively cede five regions (including some not under Russian control), withdraw troops from these territories, renounce reparations, and agree to the "protection of Russian-speaking rights."
Later, dictator Vladimir Putin voiced another demand — recognition of so-called "referendums" in the occupied territories.
Previously, Moscow also demanded the so-called demilitarization of Ukraine, which would entail a significant reduction of the Ukrainian army.
At talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, the dictator also presented conditions for ending the war. Reuters has obtained some of them.
