Skopje, 26 February 2025 (MIA) - There is a real necessity to end the conflict in Ukraine but there is also a more important topic here - the value that Europe attaches to territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty - something that requires a unified European response, said French Ambassador Christophe Le Rigoleur on Wednesday.

Quizzed by reporters if North Macedonia's vote in the UN resolutions could impact the country's Euro-integration path, Ambassador Le Rigoleur said the country's decision was unexpected.

"For us, North Macedonia's vote in New York was unexpected. There is a real necessity to end the conflict in Ukraine but there is also a more important topic here - the value that Europe attaches to territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty, considering the imperialism of one neighbor towards another to the degree of denying its existence, identity and language. This requires a unified European response. The goal of European diplomacy today is to maintain that unity and to have a common approach that will ensure the continent's security in the coming decades, for us and our children," said Le Rigoleur.

On Monday, North Macedonia co-sponsored a United States resolution on Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly that did not pass, while a resolution supported by European countries, which identified Moscow as the aggressor in its war against Ukraine and demanded Russian troop withdraw from Ukrainian territory, was adopted. Later in the day, the UN Security Council voted in favour of the U.S. resolution on Ukraine that calls for a rapid end to the war but does not name Russia as the aggressor and does not call for a Russian withdrawal.

Photo: MIA