|
He also said he would standby France's commitments to the NATO
military alliance if he became prime minister.
Bardella's National Rally (RN) party leads opinion polls ahead
of June 30 and July 7 snap parliamentary elections, which has
led to questions over the foreign policy implications if they
win enough seats to form a government.
"I wish for Ukraine to have at disposal the ammunition and
equipment it needs to hold the front, but my red line will not
change, which is sending equipment that could have consequences
of escalation in eastern Europe," Bardella told reporters at the
Eurosatory arms fair near Paris.
"And so I don't plan to send, especially, long-range missiles or
other weapons that will allow Ukraine to strike the Russian
territory. My position has not changed and will not change –
it's about support for Ukraine and avoiding all risks of
escalation in the region. And I think the risk of escalation is
of course real."
Even if the RN was to run France's government, Emmanuel Macron
would remain as president, and the head of France's army.
But the constitution also gives the prime minister a role in
terms of defense, with the division of power not clear cut.
Macron would lose control over the domestic agenda, including
economic policy, security, immigration and finances, which would
in turn impact other policies, such as aid to Ukraine, as he
would need parliament's backing to finance any support as part
of France's annual budget.
Bardella also said he would keep France's commitments towards
its partners, including on increasing defense spending.
"I don't plan to put into question the commitments made by
France on the international level, because there's a stake
regarding credibility towards our European partners as well as
towards our NATO allies," he said.
"And so I plan to pursue the efforts of rearmament of the
country, both in terms of its defense capabilities, increasing
the military budget through budgetary efforts put in place in
past years, which we have supported," he added.
(Reporting by Ardee Napolitanno; writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta;
editing by Ingrid Melander and Sharon Singleton)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
