Macron warns against rationing Ukraine aid, calls it a path to more war

The French president didn't hedge. Countries looking to ration aid to Ukraine "wish underneath it all to force an unjust peace on it" and on Europe too, Macron said in a statement posted to social media on Saturday. "That is the spirit of defeat. That is a recipe for another war. That cannot be France's position," he added.

His intervention comes with Washington mediating between Ukraine and Russia to end the war Moscow launched with its full-scale invasion in 2022. US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky separately on Thursday, after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi wrapped with no breakthrough. The negotiations did produce agreement that European countries will sit in on future talks.

On Friday in Dublin, Europe picked five powers to send representatives: France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Poland. Macron said Europe "must take full part" in securing a "fair and lasting peace" in Ukraine, arguing that "what happens in Ukraine concerns us directly... Helping Ukraine defend itself is protecting France and the French."

Zelensky said in comments released Saturday that Washington has floated Kyiv ceding land to Moscow in exchange for joining NATO. Macron said Ukraine's allies need to spell out their postwar vision clearly, including to Russia, and "detail what we expect of the United States for Europe's long-term security."

Macron also said he believes "Vladimir Putin does not want to negotiate," accusing him of trying to break Ukraine by escalating drone and missile strikes on civilians and energy infrastructure as winter closes in. The response, Macron argued, is to keep up financial backing and help Ukraine shield its population, power plants and grids.