President of France Emmanuel Macronsaid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “resurrected” NATO, years after he called the Alliance “brain dead”.

“In December 2019, I said harsh things about NATO. I spoke about brain death, highlighting the divisions that existed at its core between Turkey and many other powers,” Macron said in his speech at the GLOBSEC summit in Bratislava. “Today I could say that Vladimir Putin brought him back to life with an electric shock.”

Macron, speaking at the GLOBSEC security forum, said the problem was not to replace NATO with a defense deal dominated by Franco-German forces. “The point is to build a strong Europe,” he added.

The French leader also expressed his wish that the member states of the European Union discuss deeper cooperation in order to acquire their own strike capabilities to guarantee their security. He also invited European defense ministers to discuss the issue at a conference in Paris on June 19 and called on member states to purchase European-made defense equipment.

With his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty at the time, Macron angered some allies, especially in Eastern Europe, as Europe sought to develop its own defense capabilities. At the time, US President Donald Trump was pushing member states to increase military spending and called Macron’s comments “pathetic.”

NATO foreign ministers began a two-day meeting in Oslo on Wednesday to discuss Kyiv’s bid to join the military alliance, as well as increased defense spending as the war enters its 16th month. This is a prelude to the annual meeting of the Alliance, which begins on July 11 in Vilnius.

Source: Bloomerg