“We knew that the discussions would be impacted by the conflict. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron spoke this Wednesday in Bali (Indonesia) at the end of a G20 strongly marked by the war in Ukraine. The massive strikes that took place on Tuesday recalled the “extreme sensitivity of the situation”, insisted the head of state. Update on his statements.
Caution on the situation in Poland
“The circumstances do not allow the shootings to be attributed” which occurred on Tuesday in Poland, insisted on underlining Emmanuel Macron on the occasion of his speech, specifying that he had no information “from Volodymyr Zelensky” about it.
“I was able to speak to the Polish authorities, I offered them our condolences for the victims of the shootings. We are cooperating to find out exactly what happened, we are doing it with all the allies”, he continued, insisting on the caution that had to be shown, after the death of two people in a struck.
An almost unanimous condemnation of the war in Ukraine
“It is not a G20 summit that decides on peace, but we had a responsibility to send a very clear message to avoid any escalation and avoid a partition of the world,” declared the French president. “The only position that can unite the international community” is that of ending the war “through negotiation”, he stressed. In this joint text, the States recall in particular that “the use or threat to use nuclear weapons is inadmissible”.
“Yesterday was a terrible day for the Ukrainian people. More than 85 missiles fell on civilian targets,” lamented the head of state, after the large-scale strikes that hit the entire Ukrainian territory on Tuesday. “I also called President Zelensky, and I told him of France’s solidarity”, said Emmanuel Macron, pointing to “a message very clearly sent on purpose by Russia”, when the members of the G20 met reunited.
“The G20 has not looked away from the war in Ukraine. Even if Putin did not come, the message sent to him is very clear, the vast majority condemns the war in Ukraine, it is a fact. Russia must hear the message from the international community and return to the negotiating table,” insisted the President of the Republic.
The desire to see China as a mediator
Emmanuel Macron also affirmed his desire to see China play a mediating role in the Ukrainian conflict. “Chinese President Xi Jinping has very clearly shown his willingness to speak out against any escalation,” he said, referring to their meeting at the summit. The President of the Republic also mentioned an upcoming visit to Beijing “early 2023”.
“There is a space of convergence with China to push Russia to de-escalate”, but also with India, added the head of state, with a view to expanding a “coalition for peace”. “We have brought together Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa, Argentina and Mexico to create convergences and have a clear message vis-à-vis Russia, an unequivocal call for the end of this war. »
An “increasing aggressiveness of Iran”
Regarding the situation in Iran, a country plagued by riots for two months and where seven French people are currently detained, Emmanuel Macron called on the authorities “to return to calm and to the spirit of cooperation” and denounced a “growing aggressiveness of Iran” with regard to France. The French president also called on Tehran “to respect regional stability”, referring to “the bombardments in recent days on Iraqi soil”.
“France has always respected the Iranian leaders and people. We have always been in an approach of discussion, of respect. I think that the choices that have been made in recent months do not go in this direction on the side of Iran,” he added.
Emmanuel Macron hailed “the courage and legitimacy” of “this revolution of Iranian women and youth”, after weeks of demonstrations, and after the reception of dissidents on November 11 at the Elysee Palace, castigated by Tehran. “I think it was completely legitimate, there too, fully respecting the sovereignty of Iran, to salute the courage and legitimacy of this fight,” he concluded.
Food security as a goal
“The main risk is the destabilization of our food chains on cereals and fertilizers. This war destabilizes the whole world”, maintained the President of the Republic, in line with the joint press release published at the end of the G20.
An international meeting which recorded the absolute necessity of renewing the cereals agreement “at the end of the week”, he insisted, recalling that it “would be irresponsible to impose obstacles to agricultural trade and we have taken a position to increase market transparency.