French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Russia could not win the war in Ukraine and that Western powers would support Kiev for as long as necessary, and said they were ready to step up efforts to in order to target Russian energy exports.
In an interview at the end of a summit of the G7 countries, Macron told a news conference that it was clear that Moscow now had the sole aim of trying to force Ukraine’s surrender.
“I really hope that the end (of the conflict) can be reached by the end of the year, with certainty and desire, which is that Russia cannot and must not win,” Macron said.
Firefighters and soldiers searched for survivors on Tuesday in the rubble of a Ukrainian shopping mall, where authorities said 36 people were missing after a Russian missile attack that killed at least 18.
Macron said such acts showed that more sanctions were needed and that the G7 would continue to step up military support to Ukraine to defend itself. He repeated that those who committed war crimes needed to be held accountable.
“Our support for Ukraine and our sanctions against Russia will continue as long as necessary and with the necessary intensity in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
Macron has been criticized in the past for his stance on Russia, but he seems determined to align himself fully with other G7 leaders. He said that at an upcoming NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday, the alliance should send a message of “strength and unity”.
As part of efforts to increase pressure on Russia, Macron said he supported the idea of an oil and gas price cap, including a US proposal to limit Russian oil, but said it needed to be studied and expanded to include a “alliance” of buyers to define the threshold and make it effective.
He said a gas price cap, which Italy has been pushing, seems easier to implement, adding that countries need to band together to end wild speculation.
“We have deregulated systems and markets because of the war, we have people who speculate because of the war, and today we have a lot of people who are making money from the war,” he said. “We call it war speculation.”
Macron added that it was “crucial” to free up space in the coming weeks before Ukraine’s next grain harvest and that United Nations (UN) negotiations with Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to open a sea route from Odessa were ongoing.
Source: CNN Brasil
