Europe should not succumb to the pressure of United States amid Ukraine-Russia dispute, appeals French Finance Minister

Paris/Washington: – French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that the European countries could face critical heat if the conflict is sparked between Russia and Ukraine. Therefore, Europe should not take decisions under United States’ pressure. This statement is significant as it was issued within 24 hours after the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Russia. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has also said that the concerns of the European Union and the United States regarding the Ukraine issue are different. These successive statements indicate that there is no consensus among the western countries.

Over the last few days, the United States has adopted a very aggressive stance. The US leaders and agencies have claimed that Russia may attack Ukraine at any time. Following these claims, the United States has increased its military deployment in Europe and supplied a large quantity of weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the picture is that the United States is pressurising the European countries to reduce their cooperation with Russia. Two days ago, US President Joe Biden had tried to pressure the German Chancellor during a meeting. Biden tried to exert pressure to get Germany to take a firm stand to shut down the Nord Stream 2 fuel pipeline. But Germany avoided taking a direct stance on the issue. Against this background, the French Finance Minister seems to have endorsed the claims that differences exist between the United States and the European countries.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that European countries would take the biggest hit if the conflict flared up in Ukraine and the United States will not feel the heat. Therefore, the European countries should not succumb to the US pressure. The finance minister also claimed that the visit of the French President to Russia indicates that the European stand is different on the Ukraine issue. Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, targeted Germany over the Ukraine issue. Zakharova alleged that Germany had become an ‘Occupied State’ of the United States and it cannot take an independent decision on any issues. She also claimed that the 30,000 US soldiers deployed in Germany act like a pressure group.