The ongoing war in Ukraine is “not in the interest” of Europe, a French General has claimed, saying that the continent has aligned itself too much with American interests on the issue.
General Pierre de Villiers, who formerly served as the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, argued on Wednesday that European nations should be pushing for a de-escalation of the war in Ukraine, saying that the continued conflict is not in the interests of Europe.
During an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV, de Villiers criticised Europe’s collective failure to seek an end to the conflict that does not “bring dishonour” to Ukraine, which he describes as “fighting bravely” after having been attacked by Russia.
“The war in Ukraine is not in the interest of European countries, certainly not of France, perhaps of the Americans,” the General told the broadcaster.
Pierre de Villiers: "La guerre en Ukraine n'est pas l'intérêt des pays européens, certainement pas de la France, peut-être des Américains" pic.twitter.com/0KRmE8LxZ5
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) November 9, 2022
Saying that the war in Ukraine “is not ours”, the official went on to describe how he was hoping for Europe to curb its systematic alignment with U.S. military interests, and instead seek “a diplomatic solution from above”.
“The challenge from my point of view is to stop the escalation,” he argued. “Since February 24, we have been in a permanent escalation.”
“It is time to find a solution that does not bring dishonour to Ukrainians who are fighting bravely and who have been attacked,” he went on to say.
De Villiers also criticised French military spending, arguing that the funding being allocated towards defence in the country — despite a recent €3 billion (~$3 billion) increase — was not enough.
Ukraine Wants $2 Billion of EU Taxpayer Money in Aid Every Monthhttps://t.co/vmp1KWlugq
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 26, 2022
“Between 2008 and 2015 we cut 20% of military personnel. It was a mistake in terms of what we know today,” he said. “We have been talking for 20 years about increasing our reserve force capacities — we have 40,000 reservists — we have not done it.”
Ultimately, the general sees the country as being completely unprepared to fight a high-intensity war with another foreign power, a worrying prospect considering the current climate of increasing tensions across the globe.
“[W]hen there is the pandemic, we allocate hundreds of billions [to relief], inflation tens of billions,” he said.
“When you build an army model to protect the French, you have to determine the threat, then determine this model in physics — the equipment, etc. –, then we determine the budget envelope,” he went on to say, arguing that it was now necessary for the country to “move up a gear”.
Euro Govts that Neglected Defence Spending Face Weapons Shortages After Supplying Ukraine https://t.co/DfNoUIhLlW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 23, 2022
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