French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that it was time for Ukraine’s allies to live up to expectations and stressed that now is not the time for cowardice, Reuters reports.

“We are definitely approaching a time in our Europe when it will be appropriate not to be a coward,” he said during a meeting with French expatriates living in Prague.

During an official visit to the Czech Republic, he also said that the Czech Republic, like France, “is perfectly aware that the war has returned to our land.” [european] and that some powers which have become unrestrained are daily extending their threats to attack us.’

“We will have to live up to historical expectations and the necessary courage,” he emphasized.

The French leader’s new comments come after he sparked outrage at NATO last month and a wave of objections from other western members of the alliance after he said he could not rule out sending troops to Ukraine.

Stéphane Sejourn, Macron’s foreign minister, as well as other French diplomats, later clarified that the leader in Paris was not referring to sending troops to Ukraine to fight Russian forces, but was referring to a supporting role.

Moscow was not convinced by the explanation, and several high-ranking Russian officials strongly condemned his words.

During his visit to the Czech Republic, Macron is expected to discuss plans announced last month by Prague and backed by Canada, Denmark and other countries to quickly finance the purchase of hundreds of thousands of shells and other types of ammunition for Ukraine from non-aligned countries. states, they are part of NATO.

European powers are scrambling to find new sources of funding and military aid for Ukraine as US aid to Kyiv remains blocked in Congress due to opposition from the Republican Party.

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