Macron responded to Witkoff's criticism regarding the involvement of European forces for Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron said following the "coalition of the willing" summit in Paris that it is necessary to "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" on whether the US will join European support forces for Ukraine, UNN writes with reference to The Guardian.

Details

Macron was asked how US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is involved in ceasefire talks with Russia and Ukraine, criticised the proposal to involve European forces, saying he was focused on what Europe could do for itself.

He said that "we have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst", hoping that the US will join the European support forces, but at the same time know what to do if that does not happen

The French President stressed that the US is a "reliable" ally, against the background of repeatedly praising President Trump's initiative and desire to end this war, and declined to comment on what others were saying on TV shows.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the positions of the US and France may sometimes differ, but stressed that Europe must be able to defend its own interests.

Macron also said that he would speak to Trump again in the coming hours, against the background of indicating that if Russia does not agree to the US proposal for a ceasefire, it will give the US an idea of Moscow's true position.

Earlier

Steve Witkoff criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plan for a special coalition force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine in a conversation with American far-right political pundit Tucker Carlson on 21 March. Witkoff called Starmer's plan "simplistic" and "posturing". He said he did not believe that Russia wanted to continue invading Europe or even absorb all of Ukraine.

"There's this notion that we all have to be like Winston Churchill. The Russians are going to march through Europe. By the way, that's absurd," he told Carlson.