Just weeks after offering “unwavering support” to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron has pivoted towards supporting peace talks — and with help from China.
ZeroHedge reports that Macron’s diplomatic advisor told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that France wants to work with China so that Russia and Ukraine can find a “peaceful solution.”
“France is ready to make joint efforts with China to facilitate the cessation of hostilities and seek a peaceful solution,” advisor Emmanuel Bonne told Wang.
This comes just eight weeks after President Macron amplified France’s military aid to Ukraine and promised “unwavering support.”
In December, Macron sent rockets to Ukraine, and in January, he sent tanks to help the country “until victory.”
Furthermore, just last month, Macron said it wasn’t the time to support dialogue with Russia.
“We are ready today to intensify (our efforts), and we are ready for an extended conflict … It is the only way to bring Russia back to the table and build a lasting peace,” he said.
This unexpected pivot towards peace talks from Macron comes amid mass protests in his own country over his executive order that mandates the country’s retirement age rise by two years from 62 to 64.
Macron said the mandatory rise is economically driven as it is necessary to prevent France’s pension budget from running a deficit.
Since mid-January, millions of protesters, including teachers, garbage collectors, and oil refinery workers, have demonstrated in more than two hundred cities in France in protest against the mandate.
The police have cracked down hard, and on Monday a Human Rights Watch group denounced Macron for several videos that show police using indiscriminate, excessive force against seemingly peaceful protesters.
Meanwhile, other Western countries, such as the US and Canada, remain steadfast in their allegiance to Ukraine and commitment to a ‘peace through victory’ strategy.
In January, Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand also pledged “unwavering support” to Ukraine, which has already amounted to billions of dollars in aid.
Anand wrote an op-ed in the National Post, essentially pledging unlimited funds for “as long as it takes” for Ukraine to win the war.
“Over the past 12 months, Canada has spent over $5 billion in aid for Ukraine — including arms and military equipment, ammunition and artillery shells, vehicles and training, as well as humanitarian and economic assistance,” Anand said.
