On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a return to imperialism.
He claimed that the new cynicism that was undermining the world order was being practiced by those who stayed silent or were secretly involved.
, Marcon remarked while speaking to world leaders on the first day of the annual high-level discussion at the UN General Assembly saying, “Today we need to make a simple choice – war or peace.”
He recalled that at the end of February, “Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, through an act of aggression and invasion and annexation, broke our collective security … when it deliberately violated the UN Charter and the principle of sovereign equality of states.”
According to the French President, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deemed Russia’s aggression illegal and demanded that its troops be withdrawn.
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“Even as Russia continued its aggression, possibly paving the way “for other wars of annexation in Europe, today and perhaps tomorrow in Asia, or Africa or Latin America.”
“The longer this war goes on, the more it threatens Europe and the world.
“It could lead to greater conflict where security and sovereignty no longer depend on the strength of alliances, but on the strength of armed groups… and subjugation of others.
“What we have seen is a return to the age of imperialism. France rejects this and will steadfastly search for peace,” he said.
Macron said the war “is undermining the principle of our organization, is undermining the only possible world order, is undermining peace.”
He stated that he had been in contact with Moscow and would do so going forward in light of this, “because it is only by working together that we can find peace”.
He said that we are supporting the Ukrainian people on a humanitarian, military, and political level to enable them to exercise their legal right to self-defense and maintain their territorial integrity.
The nations that claimed to be neutral were rejected by Macron, who said: “They are wrong. They are making a historical mistake.
“Those who are keeping silent today are, in a way, complicit with the cause of a new imperialism…. that is trampling the current order,” Macron said.
It is not a matter of choosing between East and West, or north and south.
Macron said, “over and beyond war, there’s a risk of dividing the world” and called on the members of the General Assembly and the Security Council to stand up for “our most precious common good – peace.”
He called on the members of the Security Council “to act so that Russia rejects the path of war and assesses the cost for itself and for all of us — and, really, bring an end to this act of aggression”.
Turning to other urgent concerns on the international agenda, Macron emphasized that the most vulnerable people were always the most impacted by problems like terrorism, imminent hunger, food shortages and price increases, and ecosystems that had reached the point of no return.
“These are all things that we need to address urgently. Many of these problems are caused by divisions between us and therefore our shared responsibility must be to help the most vulnerable to cope with these challenges,” he stated.
