Point of view. Interviewed by Apolline de Malherbe on BFMTV, the former Prime Minister mentioned the idea of a possible conflict with Russia. But he remains vague about the state of our army.
By Bernard Aubin
“If we listen to Putin’s speech these last few days, it is a speech of unprecedented violence… The martyrs of Marioupol and Kirkov were preceded by those of Grosny and Aleppo, and always with the same actors, the Russians. How far can we let it go? (…) We must prepare for everything… We must prepare for war, including in the traditional way. We must prepare the opinion, “said the former Prime Minister this morning on the air of BFM.
Three days of ammunition
The words of Manuel Valls are blunt. In short, the question currently facing Western heads of state is where to draw the red line in the face of a Putin who seems to stop at nothing? Can Europe still remain deaf for a long time to the desperate calls of a massacred people? As the Ukrainian President has repeated over and over again, our relative passivity risks confronting us, Europeans, with the same fate. It is only a question of time.
Questioned by Apolline de Malherbe on the performance and capacity for action of our armies, the former Prime Minister remained evasive, merely repeating that we must prepare ourselves and be ready, even for the worst. And to list the military equipment that is indispensable to ensure our defense. However, he did not take any notice of Éric Zemmour’s statement that in case of war, France would only have three days’ worth of ammunition… Worrying!
Would we be ready ?
In response to another question from the journalist, Manuel Valls stated in a similarly vague manner that exercises and other simulations are regularly held in France and Europe to anticipate the nuclear threat. He insists: “we must be ready to win the war”. Is the supply of iodine tablets sufficient for the entire population? We will not really know more. In short, we will also have understood that the threat of a nuclear conflict cannot be ruled out and that we are not necessarily ready.
The escalation continues
On the 27ᵉ day of war, Ukraine is gradually ceding its top spot on the news. But on the ground, the escalation continues. The meeting of heads of state scheduled for this Thursday, March 24, is expected to result in the definition of even stronger measures against Russia. The former Prime Minister has paid particular attention to the outcome of the discussions.
For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky recently declared himself ready to discuss with Vladimir Putin if he agrees to negotiate directly with him, including Crimea and the Donbass, but with prior “security guarantees. A pious hope when one knows the contempt that the master of the Kremlin shows him. Manuel Valls also hoped, without giving the impression of believing in it, for a diplomatic solution to this conflict.
Chemical and biological weapons
On the other side of the Atlantic, the tone is not one of appeasement towards the “war criminal”: for the President of the United States, it is clear that Russia is planning to use chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine. He has already warned his Russian counterpart that such a decision would result in a “severe” Western response.
“I’m looking you in the eye and I don’t think you have a soul,” Joe Biden said to Vladimir Putin in 2011. The one who was still only Vice President of the United States at the time recounted the reaction of the Russian President: “He looked at me, smiled and replied: ‘We understand each other’.
That says it all, and barring a miracle, the worst cannot be ruled out.
Chemical and biological weapons
On the other side of the Atlantic, the tone is not one of appeasement towards the “war criminal”: for the President of the United States, it is clear that Russia is planning to use chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine. He has already warned his Russian counterpart that such a decision would result in a “severe” Western response.
“I’m looking you in the eye and I don’t think you have a soul,” Joe Biden said to Vladimir Putin in 2011. The one who was still only Vice President of the United States at the time recounted the reaction of the Russian President: “He looked at me, smiled and replied: ‘We understand each other’.
That says it all, and barring a miracle, the worst cannot be ruled out.
Armes chimiques, menace nucléaire: pour Manuel Valls, "il faut être prêt à tout" pic.twitter.com/AyLyKn3mFy
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 22, 2022