Report: Macron Hastens to Fold Ukraine Into NATO
French President Emmanuel Macron is changing his tune toward NATO — from one of a brain-dead military organization — to a sudden call for expediting Ukraine's membership, Bloomberg reported.
Speaking in May at the GLOBSEC
forum in Bratislava, Slovakia, Macron stepped back from his past
critiques, calling instead for further coordination with the European
Union to speed NATO's expansion up to Russia's red line.
"In December 2019, I had harsh words for NATO, underlining at the
time the divisions that existed at its heart between Turkey and several
other powers by speaking of 'brain death,'" Macron said at the summit on May 31. "I could say today that Vladimir Putin has revived it with the worst of electroshocks."
"The question isn't whether or not we should expand, or even when we
should do it — to me, it's as quickly as possible — but how we should do
it."
Several officials who spoke to Bloomberg anonymously expressed
surprise at the reported conversion, while some remained skeptical.
One official dismissed the speech as empty words, while another
criticized Macron's proposal to mediate peace talks with China, citing
his unsuccessful attempts to prevent Putin from attacking Ukraine. A
third official speculated that Macron may have acknowledged that his
past efforts to engage Putin were ineffective.
Others believe Macron's recent change of heart has significant implications.
"The message is important," said Rym Momtaz, a researcher for
International Institute for Strategic Studies. "We'll have to see if
this message translates into a new strategic direction."
However, he said, "Macron understands the gravity of the historical
moment NATO is facing and wants to play a central and constructive role.
Now, he needs to give this change in his public posture some concrete
signs."
Bloomberg did not report what that concrete sign was or how a potential Ukraine NATO membership will play out.
