French Foreign Minister confirms unity with Berlin after Macron's Ukraine statements

Stephane Sejourne, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, believes that there is no split between France and Germany, despite evident differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding Ukraine. Source: Sejourne in an interview with Le Monde, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "There is no Franco-German clash; we agree on 80% of the issues," Stephane Sejourne states. 

Details: In addition to his statement regarding the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine during a conference supporting Kyiv organised by Paris on 26 February, which caused a stir, Macron appeared to implicitly criticise countries such as Germany, which has hesitated for a long time to provide Kyiv with certain heavy weaponry.

"I spoke with my German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, and we will meet next Tuesday in Paris. There is a willingness to talk to each other," said Sejourne.  "There is no drama here because we have the same goal - to support Ukraine," he emphasised.

The minister of foreign affairs recalled that France and Germany have had "different degrees of commitment" since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, especially "regarding missiles."  Additionally, the French minister dismissed the idea that discussions about a military presence in Ukraine are for pre-election purposes ahead of the European elections in June. "The issue is not electoral; it is existential. Ukraine has become the centre of electoral debates because there are indeed differences of position on this issue.

I would prefer that this was not the case and for there to be a broad consensus across party lines," Sejourne stated.

Background:

• The tension in German-French relations is causing concern among Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, who believe that it is detrimental to supporting Ukraine in the war.
• At the end of a meeting in Paris earlier this week, Macron stated that the possibility of Western troops entering Ukraine could not be ruled out.

  Scholz clearly opposed this and reiterated his opposition on Wednesday: "As the Chancellor of Germany, I will not send any soldiers from our Bundeswehr to Ukraine."

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