French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu warned today against making too big concessions to Russia during planned talks on the war in Ukraine, DPA reported.
If peace is not achieved through force, this could lead to a dramatic situation and, in the long term, even an escalation of the conflict, Lecornu said on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
"Peace through weakness" could send a disastrous message to North Korea, Iran or even China, he warned.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would talk to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, his administration publicly outlined for the first time how it envisions a deal to end the war, saying that Ukraine must abandon its bid to join NATO and reclaim territory it has lost since 2014. The US government also made it clear that US troops would not be part of any potential peacekeeping force.
Lecornu said the US government's approach raised questions about the future of NATO. "They say it is the most important and strongest military alliance in history. That is true from a historical perspective. But the real question is whether that will still be the case in 10 or 15 years," he added.