French President Emmanuel Macron said that the EU states should develop a general concept of strategic sovereignty.
According to him, the EU needs its own "concept of European sovereignty." The concept, which seemed unthinkable four years ago, would confirm that Europeans, regardless of their participation in NATO, face common threats and have common goals, TASS reported.
Macron stressed that this must be done before the NATO summit in Madrid in June 2022.
Moreover, France will initiate the reform of the Schengen zone during its presidency of the EU.
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump's special representative for the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, began in St. Petersburg on the evening of April 11. This was reported by the Kremlin press service.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said before the talks began that the meeting between Putin and Whitkoff provides an excellent platform to convey Russia's position to the Trump administration. Peskov clarified that the meeting will touch on the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, and the meeting will last as long as the Russian president needs it to.
Peskov earlier in the day announced Whitkoff's arrival in Russia. The American envoy's motorcade was spotted outside the Grand Europe Hotel in St. Petersburg. Later, it became known about Whitkoff's visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral in the Northern capital accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The previous meeting between Putin and Whitkoff took place on the evening of March 13. On March 16, the special envoy of the US president said on CBS News that the parties had made significant progress in discussing the Ukrainian conflict during the talks in Moscow.