Emmanuel Macron: France, Turkey, Greece working on ‘humanitarian operation’ for Mariupol evacuations
March 26, 2022, 2:51 am

Emmanuel Macron: France, Turkey, Greece working on ‘humanitarian operation’ for Mariupol evacuations

Emmanuel Macron-France President/Emmanuel Macron official Facebook page

The Arab News reported, citing the AFP, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday France was working with Turkey and Greece on a “humanitarian operation” to evacuate people from the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol under attack by Russian forces.

Macron said after an EU summit in Brussels: “We are going to work with Turkey and Greece to launch a humanitarian operation to evacuate all those who wish to leave Mariupol.”

He said: “I will have a new discussion with (Russian) President Vladimir Putin within the next 48 to 72 hours to work out the details and secure the modalities."

The French leader said he hoped to “be able to involve the maximum number of stakeholders in this operation.”

He said that he wanted to be “in a position” to conduct the evacuation “in the next few days.”

Health Ministry of Ukraine, March 21: Since Feb 24, Russian forces have killed 6 doctors and 16 more were injured. 43 ambulances and 135 hospitals were fired by the Russian army. Currently, 9 Ukrainian hospitals have been completely destroyed (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

Macron said that French officials had spoken Friday to the mayor of Mariupol and that the 150,000 remaining residents were left trapped in “dramatic conditions.”

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Authorities in the city have put the death toll in the city at over 2,000, and said Friday that a single strike last week on a theater where civilians were sheltering was feared to have killed 300 people.

Russia has made the port city a major focus of its brutal onslaught on Ukraine as it tries to link up the annexed Crimea peninsula with Moscow-controlled areas in the east.

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The Kremlin’s devastating attack on Mariupol has drawn parallels with the bombardments by Russian forces that flattened Chechen capital Grozny and Syria’s Aleppo.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.