UK and France must defend post-WWII ‘order’: Macron

LONDON: President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France and Britain must “work together” to protect the post-1945 “international order” while stating that European countries will “never abandon Ukraine” in its war with Russia, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, he also demanded immediate ceasefire in Gaza without any condition, as there US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are talking about relocating Palestinians out of Gaza, citing “great cooperation from…surrounding countries…”.

Read more: Gazans reject Trump displacement plan despite death, destruction

Addressing the UK parliament at the outset of a three-day state visit, Macron also demanded an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza during a wide-ranging speech that touched on various other issues including irregular migration across the Channel.

Trade war is clearly an explicit decision not to be complaint with WTO [World Trade Organization], he remarked.

REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON US AND CHINA

As the ongoing trade war has rattled the globe and even the relationship between traditional allies, Macron also called for reducing trade dependency on the US and China.

Britain and France must reduce risks posed by relying too much on the United States and China for trade, he said, according to Reuters.

“We will have …. to de-risk our two countries for the excessive dependencies on both the US and China,” he said during a state visit to Britain, the first by a European leader since Brexit.

The remarks came as the Trump Tariffs, the term used for the tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump, are threatening to tear apart the historic friendly transatlantic relations.

At the same time, the issue of cheaper Chinese goods as well as intellectual property rights is also a headache for Europe, which gradually lost its manufacturing base over the past decades.

BREXIT ‘DEEPLY REGRETTABLE’

At the same time, Macron said that Britain’s 2020 departure from the European Union was “deeply regrettable” but the result of its 2016 referendum was respected, as he addressed Britain’s parliament.

It was “a decision that we respect even if we found it deeply regrettable”, Macron told UK lawmakers as he became the first EU head of state to make a formal visit to Britain since Brexit.

‘WILL NEVER ABANDON UKRAINE’

In his speech, the French president also made another promise, saying Europe will never abandon Ukraine.

Britain and France will work with the ‘coalition of the willing’ until the last minute to secure a ceasefire, he added.

“We will fight till the very last minute in order to get the ceasefire, in order to start the negotiations to build this robust and sustainable peace, because this is our security and our principles together which are at stake in Ukraine,” Macron said.

“This coalition was just a signal that Europeans will never abandon Ukraine – never.”