Macron says Ukraine should get ‘strong and tangible’ security guarantees

BRATISLAVA — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “strong and tangible” security guarantees for Ukraine on Wednesday ahead of a key NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

In recent weeks, Ukrainians have renewed their lobbying push for a concrete path toward membership, working hard to sway wary members of the alliance.

At the GLOBSEC security forum in Bratislava, the French president said Ukraine should be given security guarantees — not only because it is “protecting Europe,” but also because it is “so well-equipped.”

“If we want a sustainable peace and want to be credible toward Ukraine, we must include it in an architecture of security,” he told a gathering of delegates at the forum.

Quoting former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who recently made the case that Europe should allow Ukraine into NATO for its own safety, Macron said, “I share that opinion.”

While there is a broad understanding Ukraine will not be able to join the alliance while it is still at war with Russia, NATO members are divided on how they should respond to Ukraine’s current push for membership.

In Bratislava, while Macron said it was unlikely there would be consensus on full membership for Ukraine, he did give a sense of what option he might back for Ukraine.

“We have to build something between Israel-style security guarantees and fully fledged membership,” he said.