If Ukraine is abandoned, Putin will push into Moldova and Romania – Macron

He made these remarks in a joint interview with several French outlets — La Tribune Dimanche, Le Parisien, Ouest-France, and Le Journal du Dimanche, as reported by FranceInfo.

Macron urged both Ukraine and the U.S. to "remain calm and respectful" and to avoid discussing critical issues in public. "Strategic and confidential discussions are needed to move forward and clear up misunderstandings privately, not publicly," he stressed.

U.S.

Since, in Macron’s view, "it’s obvious the Americans should stand with Ukraine," he hopes to convince Washington that "distancing itself from Ukraine is not in its interest." If the U.S. agrees to "sign a truce without security guarantees for Ukraine," then its "ability to deter Russia, China, and others will collapse instantly," the French president warned.

Europe

If Russian leader Vladimir Putin isn’t stopped now, he "will definitely move on Moldova and possibly even Romania," Macron said.

He also did not rule out Europe stepping in to stop Putin, through "a joint defense backed by joint financing."

But first, as he put it, Europe is about to "wake up" — something that will be caused by Washington’s reluctance to guarantee Europe’s security in the future.

• Meanwhile, on February 26, Romanian authorities conducted 47 searches in a case related to crimes against the constitutional order. Former presidential candidate and pro-Russian politician Călin Georgescu was detained.