Benjamin Haddad is one of the leading members of the French National Assembly for President Emmanuel Macron's party. He is a member of the foreign affairs committee and also heads the "friendship group" with Ukraine in the Assembly.

What is important for Ukraine is that Haddad believes in Ukraine's future as part of the EU and NATO. He is also influential in shaping the policies of President Macron and France in general.

France is a very good example of the dramatic shift in policy towards Ukraine. How far will it go? You can watch the full video interview with Haddad with European Pravda editor, Sergiy Sydorenko.

Or you can read it - Europe Needs to Put Itself in a Situation Where We Can Help Ukraine in War without US.

In short, what Benjamin Haddad talked about:

"The French people overwhelmingly support Ukraine, Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO, sanctions against Russia and weapon deliveries to Ukraine. What's so interesting beyond this support is that the French public, like many others in Europe, is still very interested and focused on this issue."

"So, the French people really, really care. We've passed three resolutions of support for Ukraine – one resolution of support, one recognising the Holodomor as a genocide, emphasising the importance of the memory of the Ukrainian nation, and оne designating the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation. The French National Assembly voted for the resolutions with almost unanimous support."

"Clearly, there was a major shift on 24 February 2022.

"We understand now that enlargement is a geopolitical necessity for Europe as well. If you want to preserve peace and stability on the European continent, then you need to compete with Russia, China and other external influences that we've seen. And of course, there's Ukraine, but there’s also Moldova, Georgia, and the western Balkans. So we need to be much better at competing, and for this, enlargement is a necessity."

"At the Bucharest in 2008, the rationale invoked by some countries like France or Germany for not giving Ukraine and Georgia a membership action plan was that to do so would be seen as a provocation by Russia. But what has happened in the meantime? Russia attacked Georgia and then Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. Not inviting those countries to join NATO was a provocation. It was an invitation for aggression by Russia.

Russia saw the decision as a sign of weakness, and interpreted it as Western countries not siding with Ukraine and Georgia. If we want to ensure long-term peace, stability and deterrence, we have to get Ukraine into NATO."

"I support giving Ukraine fighter jets. I'm frustrated that it took so long for the F-16s. It's still taking a long time."

"Our general strategy works: we don't want NATO or European countries to get dragged directly into the confrontation. We give Ukrainians what they need, whether that be that tanks or fighter jets."

"After the US election, if it doesn't go the way we hope, yes, Europeans really need to be ready to step up. We need to put ourselves in a situation where we can help Ukraine even on our own. We're certainly not there yet."

"For so long, people in Europe, in Germany, but not only there, thought that energy trade with Russia would be sort of like a commodity that's traded on the market between customers and suppliers. No, it was a weapon! I really hope, and this is what I am advocating, that this is the end of naivety in Europe."

"I'm a big proponent of European defence, of European sovereignty, of giving ourselves the tools to enable us to compete in the world. That way, we can ensure our own security, not against or without the US, but as partners and allies to the US. And obviously, the first step toward this is what we are doing today in Ukraine."

Read the full interview - Europe Needs to Put Itself in a Situation Where We Can Help Ukraine in War without US