Thread by @morcos_pierre

[Thread] There has been a lot of debates, and distorsions, about France’s position on #Ukraine and #Russia lately. While concerns are legitimate given the gravity of the situation, many arguments I’ve heard are off-base. A thread to debunk some misconceptions:

1/ "France is pushing Ukraine to compromise": this controversy started from an interview given by President Zelensky to the Italian press. A quote from the 🇺🇦 leader was misleadingly reported, giving the false impression that President Macron urged him to cede territory.

This is entirely false. The transcript of the itw clearly shows that Pres Zelensky was not explicitly speaking of the 🇫🇷 President. More importantly, Pres Macron has always been cristal clear that it is up to the 🇺🇦 to decide the terms of their negotiations with the 🇷🇺.

See for instance his speech to the European Parliament: "As Europeans, we are working for the preservation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is up to Ukraine to define the conditions for negotiations with Russia."
…sidence-francaise.consilium.europa.eu/fr/actualites/…

2/ "President Macron should stop calling Putin": the 🇫🇷 President is often criticized for his telephone diplomacy with Moscow. But it is often forgotten that President Zelensky himself is asking for preserving this channel of communication as Putin is refusing to talk to him.

Besides, every call has been closely coordinated with Pres Zelensky. The 🇫🇷 Pres. has never discussed anything with Putin without Pres Zelensky's consent. This diplomatic effort has been praised by the 🇫🇮 President who is also in contact with Putin.

https://twitter.com/niinisto/status/1498630934924562438?s=20&t=sRQxtk4nXfszYTpj6b2TJA

2/ "France wants to preserve Russia": this criticism is based on President Macron’s call at the European Parliament for "not giving in to the temptation either of humiliation or of the spirit of revenge."

This has triggered a very interesting debate on the notion of "humiliation" and what History tells us about it. I won’t expand on this but would like to underline that France is not trying to "accommodate" the 🇷🇺 regime in the hope of finding a diplomatic solution to the war.

Paris has been a driving force in the international efforts to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by the 🇷🇺 military, to impose a massive economic cost on the Russian economy and oligarchs and to isolate Russia on the global stage.
reuters.com/world/europe/f…

3/ "France is not doing its fair share to assist Ukraine": since the beginning of the invasion, France has delivered weapons to Ukraine, including long-range artillery (Caesar self-propelled howitzers), and has trained 🇺🇦 soldiers on its soil.
politico.com/news/2022/04/2…

This criticism is also missing the larger picture: 🇪🇺 €2 billion military assistance to 🇺🇦 though the European Peace Facility. 🇫🇷 not only is one of the largest contributor to the EPF but has also been a big proponent for its creation in the first place.
csis.org/analysis/europ…

France is also providing substantial humanitarian support and financial aid (€2 billion) to Ukraine.
reuters.com/world/europe/f…

4/ "France is against Ukraine’s membership to the EU": Again, Pres Macron has been very clear: 🇫🇷 is in favor of "quickly" giving the candidate status to 🇺🇦. But, he also underlined a basic fact: accession negotiations can be long (years if not decades).
institutmontaigne.org/en/blog/instit…

That is why, France is in favor of starting Ukraine’s integration to the EU *in parallel* (not in substitute) of the accession process, through a "political community". Important steps are already prepared, notably on the access to the European market.

https://twitter.com/Europe2022FR/status/1525058819805564929?s=20&t=ccND0A_yq7-mUmpbR92Dvw

5/ "France’s dream of European strategic autonomy is now dead": the war in 🇺🇦 has rejuvenated NATO and its collective defense mission. France has long acknowledged that reality and recently decided to substantially increased its contribution to NATO’s military posture.

France has never tried to deny, or undermine, NATO’s critical contribution to our collective security. On the contrary, France is pragmatically pushing for greater European responsibilities, leveraging every tool available (EU, NATO, bilateral or multilateral cooperations).

This is in the interest of NATO and of the United States. Far from making this ambition obsolete, the war in Ukraine has underlined the urgency for Europeans to significantly step up their efforts and take greater share of the burden.

6/ "France is prioritizing its partnership with Germany": the 🇫🇷🇩🇪 relationship is critical for both Paris and Berlin but is far from being exclusive. France has on the contrary tried over the past few years to diversify its strategic partnerships across Europe.

France has notably increased its engagement with the CEE countries since the beginning of the war, in different format: the Weimar format (🇫🇷🇩🇪🇵🇱), France + Baltic States, France + B9 countries. And 🇫🇷 is deploying ships/troops/aircrafts to ensure the security of these countries.

I’ll stop there. In these hard times, it is normal to be demanding with one another. But many criticisms addressed to France are rooted in preconceived ideas, and do not reflect the reality of France’s positions and actions. [End]