. | . |
Macron snubs US arms in defence spat with Trump by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Nov 11, 2018
Europe should not spend higher defence budgets on US-made weapons, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview due to air Sunday, after a defence row with President Donald Trump. One of dozens of world leaders attending World War I commemorations in France this weekend, Trump tweeted after landing in Paris that Macron's call for a "real European army" was "insulting". In an interview recorded on Saturday with CNN after talks with Trump, Macron said the two leaders had spoken about what his office has portrayed as a misunderstanding. "We had a regular discussion this morning and he confirmed in front of the press that he was ok," Macron told CNN. Both leaders agree there should be "better burden-sharing within NATO", meaning Europe should be less reliant on US spending for its defence, Macron said. But Macron told CNN: "To be very direct with you, what I don't want to see is European countries increasing the budget in defence in order to buy American and other arms or materials coming from your industry." Macron had last month criticised Belgium's decision to buy US-made F-35 fighter jets instead of European planes, saying it "goes against European interests". In his CNN interview he stressed the need for Europe to take charge of its defence. Whereas "after the Second World War we needed the US to be present for our security, I think now the momentum for Europe is to build its own security and its own sovereignty," he said. He refrained from commenting on Trump's "insult" tweet, beyond saying, "I always prefer having direct discussions or answering questions than making my diplomacy through tweets." - 'Cooperation is good" - In a radio interview this week, Macron had named the United States alongside China and Russia as sources of risk. He said the EU needed to be less dependent on the United States, not least following Trump's withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear treaty. Trump on Friday called Macron's comments "very insulting". The French presidency later sought to defuse the row, saying Macron remarks had been misinterpreted. In his talks with the US leader Macron said he was merely arguing that Europe needed to take greater ownership of its own security, and Trump described the pair as "very good friends". Macron however told CNN that while he and Trump had things in common -- notably their rise to power as outside candidates -- their outlook on the world was very different. "I'm not a nationalist, which for me is very different from being a patriot. I do defend my people, I do defend my country, I do believe we have a strong identity," Macron said. "But I'm a strong believer in cooperation between the different peoples. And I'm a strong believer of the fact that this cooperation is good for everybody."
Norway freezes defence export licences to Saudi Oslo (AFP) Nov 9, 2018 Norway said Friday it was freezing all defence material export licences to Saudi Arabia over recent developments in the country and the war in Yemen. The announcement came amid international outrage over Riyadh's killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October, though Norway did not mention the murder specifically. "We have decided that, in the current situation, no new licences are to be granted for exports of defence-related products or dual-use it ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |