The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, spoke to our colleagues at the BBC during an interview which was published this Saturday, November 23. In it, he discusses the war in Ukraine and the thorny question of the use of French long-range missiles on targets located in Russia.
It is a question that divides in France and abroad. Should Ukraine be authorized to use long-range missiles on Russian territory?
If for now the United States answered yes by authorizing the Ukrainians to use it in this way, France, which seemed not to make up its mind on the subject, revealed a new element of response.
Indeed, in an interview with the BBC, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared that it could be possible for Ukraine to use French missiles on Russian targets. “in a logic of self-defense”.
“The principle has been established… our messages to President Zelensky were well received”, he said.
As a reminder, the Ukrainian army also used British Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Russia, during the week. Fragments were reportedly found near the village of Marino, in the Kursk region.
“No red line”
“We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because It is our safety that is at stake. Every time the Russian army advances one square kilometer, the threat is approaching one square kilometer of Europe”, added the minister to our colleagues.
He emphasizes that, faced with the Russian threat, Western countries should not “set red lines” and that it will be necessary for all to increase military spending.
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