French president Macron convinced Ukraine ‘war will last’

French President Emmanuel Macron said he is convinced that “this war will last” and warned of tough consequences at home as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Inaugurating France’s Agricultural Fair in Paris on Saturday, Macron told farmers that sectors from wine to cereals to exports and energy prices will be affected by the conflict.

“War has returned to Europe. This war was unilaterally chosen by Putin,” he said, adding that “we must prepare ourselves with lots of determination and also lots of solidarity.”

He said a “plan of resilience” was being put in place, but did not elaborate.

The yearly Agriculture Fair, canceled last year due to the COVID crisis, is typically a must-visit event for French presidents, all the more so this year with presidential elections in April.

But Macron, who has yet to declare his candidacy, cut short his planned day-long visit to a brief stay to warn farmers that they are among those who will be taking collateral damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union, along with the U.S. and numerous other countries, has announced sanctions against Russia, while trying to avoid blowback onto their own populations.

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A senior Russian official has warned that Moscow could react to Western sanctions over its attack on Ukraine by opting out of the last remaining nuclear arms pact and freezing Western assets.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, shrugged off a set of crippling sanctions that the U.S., the European Union and other allies slapped on Russia as a reflection of Western “political impotence.”

In comments posted on his page on Russian social media VKontakte, Medvedev said the sanctions could offer Moscow a pretext for a complete review of its ties with the West, suggesting that Russia could opt out of the New START nuclear arms control treaty that limits the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals.

Medvedev also raised the prospect of cutting diplomatic ties with Western countries, saying “there is no particular need in maintaining diplomatic relations” and adding that “we may look at each other in binoculars and gunsights.” He pointed at the possibility of freezing Western assets in the country if the West proceeds with threats to freeze Russian assets.