Russia-Ukraine war: European countries and Canada affirm responsibility

DER SPIEGEL Russia-Ukraine war: European countries and Canada affirm responsibility 1 hour • 2 minutes reading time 20 European countries and Canada affirm their solidarity with Ukraine. They will "assume their responsibilities," said French President Macron after a meeting. Germany was not there this time. After the USA's U-turn in its Ukraine policy, numerous European countries and Canada have pledged their continued support to the country attacked by Russia. "We stand by Ukraine and will assume all our responsibilities to ensure peace and security in Europe," said French President Emmanuel Macron after an informal video conference in which France, 19 European countries and Canada were represented. Germany was not present at the new round of talks. A small group of European heads of state and government had already met on Monday for a Ukraine crisis summit in Paris. The meeting, which was also attended by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, did not produce any tangible results. The countries had shown disagreement over a possible peacekeeping force. Macron went on to say that Ukraine must always be involved in peace efforts and its rights must be respected. Europeans' security concerns must also be taken into account. Peace must be lasting and accompanied by robust and credible guarantees. For Europe, the question is how to respond to the drastic change in US policy towards Ukraine. The US aims to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to Russia's war of aggression and to give the Europeans responsibility for securing a peace agreement.